Just a quick post on one of my battles from last night. Written quickly from memory so don't butcher me too badly on the grammar. I enjoy writing but don't usually share. So, let me know what you think.
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#2
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- Bridesmaid
- 339 posts
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- LocationHarlech, Romulus, Outreach
Posted 26 March 2014 - 09:52 AM
Patrol Route Gamma
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
5 January 3050
1240 Local Time
The patrol had quickly turned into chaos on the snowy road as his lance crossed the open area. Almost immediately laser and long range missile fire carved into the ‘mechs, calls for orders were left unanswered as they looked for cover from the blistering fire. Corporal Danghen Woolf looked desperately for something to break the line of fire as the SureFire anti-missile system whirred to try to intercept the incoming missiles.
“Commander! We need cover! Commander?” No response over the comms.
“Incoming missile”, the electronic voice warned as the contrails appeared over the ridge. He gritted his teeth as the AMS spat slugs at the quickly approaching missiles.
Fire blossomed on his right side and around his feet as stray missiles detonated across his Hunchback’s oversized torso. Luckily the angle of fire from his attacker and the mech’s namesake ‘hunch’ protected the cockpit from the impacts. Danghen turned his ‘mech towards a small rise that would take him away from his lance, without knowing what was launching the missiles he was gambling with walking into a battle he could not win. The machine groaned in protest as the ablative armor that a second ago was superheated by the impacts quickly cooled in the freezing temperatures. He knew that ejecting here was out of the question, his cooling vest and shorts would leave him ill prepared to survive in these temperatures. The humming of the reactor increased as he throttled up the small ridge, snow crunching and turning to steam as the fifty-ton ‘mech struggled to keep its pace on the incline. The red target warning lights abruptly winked out as his attacker lost target lock. He breathed a short lived sigh of relief before turning to check to see if his lance mates were following him.
“Alpha lance, Woolf moving east of your location, any unit respond.” Silence, not even the normal battle-chatter he was used to hearing.
Contrails continued to rise and fall where his lance had been a moment before. Danghen watched them for a moment before accessing his battle grid on an auxiliary monitor. He was too far to see the mechs attacking from such a range. The trajectory appeared to be originating from behind a small hill south of the ambush site. He set his waypoint and published the coordinates over the lance channel.
“Commander, Woolf moving to intercept unknown units at Nav-point delta, please confirm friendly movement,” again no response. He turned away from the ambush site and moved along the ridge paralleling the small roadway that his lance had been crossing. He hoped that the others would see his movement on their grids as well but in battle things can happen so quickly that icons can become very close together and more than one mechwarrior had been killed in the confusion. The ridgeline hid the origin of the LRMs but, he hoped, also prevented the enemies from seeing his approach.
A break in the ridge showed a small slope leading down to the roadway where some of the larger stones had fallen. Danghen moved cautiously, slowing the Hunchback to almost a crawl so as not to dislodge any additional snow or stone to alert the enemies to his presence.
“Come on baby, light as a Spider,” he whispered to the battle computer as he crept up to the break just enough for his viewport and sensors to show him what lie on the other side. At least the 20th AG like their ‘mechs white, he thought to himself as the TRSS Eagle Eye targeting system identified the mech below him. A lone Jagermech was kneeling on the back side of the hill in a classic hull-down position with only the high-mounted targeting array above the crest. This allowed the mech known for its anti-air capability to target his lance without exposing itself to return fire. Danghen was surprised at his enemy’s lack of camouflage but could not place the brown and gold paint scheme of any regiment he was familiar with. He quickly scanned for any other enemies as the volume of fire his lance was exposed to was highly unlikely to have come from this single mech.
He keyed his comms, “Commander, Woolf in position, observe one enemy JM6-A, unknown unit, possible DCMS or mercenary. Advise.”
The Jagermech stood and began to move forward over the ridge, adding autocannon fire to the LRMs tracing back to where Danghen left his lance. He checked his battle grid one more time; it showed his lance engaged with at least one other mech at the original ambush site. Time to go, he thought.
Snow and loose stones chased the fifty-ton battlemech down the short slope as he slid the machine down into the roadway, a moment of vertigo caused the ‘mech to stumble slightly as the gyro tapped into the pilot’s sense of balance to stay on its feet. The actuators strained as the Hunchback stepped off before it had even stopped sliding. So focused on what was happening down the road, the enemy ‘mech had not even noticed the movement off to its right and continued to move towards the ambush site.
Six hundred meters… Danghen checked his damage status and ammunition levels. Other than the damage from the initial bombardment everything looked good. Five hundred meters, he was within maximum range but he wanted to make sure the heavier ‘mech didn’t get to react. Four hundred meters… the range marker ticked off as he closed the distance on the still unaware enemy. Three hundred meters… optimum range was quickly approaching. Two hundred meters… the sound of the autocannon was dampened by the neurohelmet but was still thunderous as the hunchback shook from the recoil. Emerald lances speared the Jagermech along the right arm and leg as the shell hit home, showering the snowy ground with jagged shards of armor. The enemy ‘mech hesitated for a second as if confused at how it had been hit from such a range before turning to address the new threat. The autocannon loading mechanism clunked and Danghen triggered it again before the computer could even register it being ready. A second shell impacted the stunned ‘Jager high on the left torso, spoiling the pilots aim as it returned fire with its own autocannons.
The pilot of the heavier ‘Jager was on his heels as he was suddenly exposed to the charge from the Hunchback. His LRMs would be no good at such close ranges and Danghen knew it as he pushed closer. The high arms would also be at a disadvantage as they could not track together at close range. He needed to get close enough to spit on the cockpit glass. Hesitation cost the ‘Jager pilot another ton of armor as the autocannon hit home again. The enemy pilot quickly realized he lost his range advantage and returned fire with his own lasers, sending steaming armor dripping down the front of the Hunchback as he backed up to try to get back into effective ranges. Snow churned to mud underfoot as the heat from the ‘mechs melted the snow.
Danghen checked the heat monitor as he triggered the lasers again, ”Come on baby, a few more shots,” he said through gritted teeth as a wash of heat seemed to emanate from the floor of the cockpit. Softball sized drops of molten armor rained down from the Jagermech’s damaged right torso, its right arm blackened and smoking as autocannon shells hung loosely from the useless loading mechanism under its armpit. The Hunchback shook violently as the enemy ‘mech’s remaining light autocannon scored a hit on the barrel-like torso. “Is that all you have? COME ON,” he spat at the larger ‘mech. He triggered the heavy autocannon again.
A ball of flame and smoke billowed out of the left torso of the damaged Jagermech and the pilot quickly responded by attempting to turn around and flee over the hill, sparks and loose autocannon shells falling into the muddied slope. Danghen fired his lasers again at the fleeing ‘mech.
“Alpha lance… Commander… enemy suppressed at Nav-point delta, advise on situation…” Danghen checked his battle grid. The icons were switching from blue to red at the top of the road and he couldn’t tell who was really who. The enemy mechwarrior was desperately trying to crest the hilltop in his crippled machine and Danghen hated him, he hated that mechwarrior for possibly killing his lance mates, hated him for ambushing them, hated him for being alone and far from help. He slammed the throttle forward to chase the wounded enemy over the hill.
The target indicators lit up and Danghen triggered his weapons into the back of the Jagermech. The heavy shell hit the enemy directly in the spine of the already savaged mech, nearly breaking it in two as the lasers carved into the internal structure, severing the myomer ‘muscles that allowed the huge machines to move. As the blackened torso of the ‘Jager fell to the snow with a shuddering impact, flames and smoke obscured the pops of remaining autocannon rounds cooking off in the heat, consuming the battered form. The pilot did not eject.
Suddenly the red targeting indicators lit up with a warning, his focus on the wounded ‘Jager left him blind to the battle around him. “Incoming missile,” the disembodied voice told him and repeated several times before the anti-missile system desperately tried to stop the missiles from finding their target. The sound went on for several seconds before the first unchecked missiles hit home, rocking the Hunchback and forcing the gyro to impart a dizzying sense of falling into Danghen’s head. Several red warning lights appeared as armor was blasted off into the snow, leaving the ‘mech’s internal structure dangerously exposed.
“Damn you,” he cursed as he scanned for the new enemy.
He turned his ‘mech towards the left and the bottom of the hill just as an enemy Kintaro let off another volley of missiles, this time short ranged unguided munitions. The SureFire ripped some of the volley from the sky but not enough. “Critical damage,” his computer warned him as he triggered the Tomodzuru autocannon. His aim was off as he misjudged the enemy’s speed, sending the heavy high-explosive shell uselessly into the snow.
“Commander… SITREP… critical damage, engaged near Nav…”, the world shook as the Kintaro managed a lucky shot on the cockpit, Danghen tasted blood and his lip felt unusually long, he was pretty sure he had bitten through it. He pushed the trigger for the mighty autocannon and was rewarded with satisfying noise and recoil, this time sending a shell directly into the chest of the Kintaro. He checked his damage and suppressed a feeling of panic as actuators and systems began changing from green to yellow to red as his ‘mech died around him.
The Kintaro pressed the advantage, it was faster than the damaged Hunchback and was packed with short range missiles and lasers, and it was designed to react to exactly this type of situation. Thick, black moke billowed out of the Hunchback’s torso as the Kintaro circled it, lasers spearing into the jagged holes created by the missiles. The anti-missile system was silent, damaged or destroyed, as more of the deadly SRMs detonated, some inside of the armored skin of the damaged ‘mech. Danghen was washed with heat again as he struggled to bring his lasers to bear on the faster ‘mech to no avail. “Medium laser destroyed, damage critical, heatsink destroyed…” the computer listed off all of the damaged components for what seemed like forever before a monitor shorted with the smell of ozone and a shower of sparks. A crack appeared in the cockpit glass as the Kintaro fired its medium lasers at the autocannon’s housing. Danghen’s world rocked as the chambered round cooked off in the barrel… everything went white then black as the neurohelmet was smashed against the back of the command couch.
He felt a cold breeze against his legs that immediately cause an involuntary shudder. Voices were calling his name. He tasted blood. He was shaking, or being shaken. Danghen opened his eyes and blinked for several seconds as Sergeant Kincaid’s face appeared through the viewport of his helmet.
“Good job Corporal, you managed to get killed”, she said, “Get yourself cleaned up and report for KP, you just earned yourself some extra duty.” She patted the top of the neurohelmet and stepped away, replaced by a medic who removed the bulky device that made him the brain of the killing machine of the 31st century.
“Well, a few stitches should fix you up but you won’t be eating steaks for a while,” he said with a chuckle as he tenderly poked at Danghen’s torn lip.
Danghen shook off the nauseous feeling of disconnecting and looked outside of the simulator pod at the other mechwarriors waiting their turns; several screens replayed the highlights of his match. Some cheered as the Jagermech went down, more cheered as the Hunchback seemed to dissolve from the waist up, and more than a few C-bills changed hands. Some of the gathered mechwarriors frowned at Danghen as others disembarked from their pods, some bruised, some bloody, all exhausted.
“Corporal Steele, Private Walsh, Private Thomas…” Kincaid listed off all of the others who would be joining him in the kitchen that evening. The Jagermech pilot, Carlos Steele, could have peeled the paint off a dropship bulkhead with the look he leveled on Danghen as he removed his own neurohelmet.
Danghen stepped off of the scaffolding and followed the medic to the small table where they were busy patching up the beaten down warriors. He smiled, painfully and thought about how nice it will be to wash some dishes with Steele smoldering like a fusion reactor about to hit critical mass. Got you punk, he thought to himself, next time you will be visiting the medics.
Edit: Revisions and formatting.
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
5 January 3050
1240 Local Time
The patrol had quickly turned into chaos on the snowy road as his lance crossed the open area. Almost immediately laser and long range missile fire carved into the ‘mechs, calls for orders were left unanswered as they looked for cover from the blistering fire. Corporal Danghen Woolf looked desperately for something to break the line of fire as the SureFire anti-missile system whirred to try to intercept the incoming missiles.
“Commander! We need cover! Commander?” No response over the comms.
“Incoming missile”, the electronic voice warned as the contrails appeared over the ridge. He gritted his teeth as the AMS spat slugs at the quickly approaching missiles.
Fire blossomed on his right side and around his feet as stray missiles detonated across his Hunchback’s oversized torso. Luckily the angle of fire from his attacker and the mech’s namesake ‘hunch’ protected the cockpit from the impacts. Danghen turned his ‘mech towards a small rise that would take him away from his lance, without knowing what was launching the missiles he was gambling with walking into a battle he could not win. The machine groaned in protest as the ablative armor that a second ago was superheated by the impacts quickly cooled in the freezing temperatures. He knew that ejecting here was out of the question, his cooling vest and shorts would leave him ill prepared to survive in these temperatures. The humming of the reactor increased as he throttled up the small ridge, snow crunching and turning to steam as the fifty-ton ‘mech struggled to keep its pace on the incline. The red target warning lights abruptly winked out as his attacker lost target lock. He breathed a short lived sigh of relief before turning to check to see if his lance mates were following him.
“Alpha lance, Woolf moving east of your location, any unit respond.” Silence, not even the normal battle-chatter he was used to hearing.
Contrails continued to rise and fall where his lance had been a moment before. Danghen watched them for a moment before accessing his battle grid on an auxiliary monitor. He was too far to see the mechs attacking from such a range. The trajectory appeared to be originating from behind a small hill south of the ambush site. He set his waypoint and published the coordinates over the lance channel.
“Commander, Woolf moving to intercept unknown units at Nav-point delta, please confirm friendly movement,” again no response. He turned away from the ambush site and moved along the ridge paralleling the small roadway that his lance had been crossing. He hoped that the others would see his movement on their grids as well but in battle things can happen so quickly that icons can become very close together and more than one mechwarrior had been killed in the confusion. The ridgeline hid the origin of the LRMs but, he hoped, also prevented the enemies from seeing his approach.
A break in the ridge showed a small slope leading down to the roadway where some of the larger stones had fallen. Danghen moved cautiously, slowing the Hunchback to almost a crawl so as not to dislodge any additional snow or stone to alert the enemies to his presence.
“Come on baby, light as a Spider,” he whispered to the battle computer as he crept up to the break just enough for his viewport and sensors to show him what lie on the other side. At least the 20th AG like their ‘mechs white, he thought to himself as the TRSS Eagle Eye targeting system identified the mech below him. A lone Jagermech was kneeling on the back side of the hill in a classic hull-down position with only the high-mounted targeting array above the crest. This allowed the mech known for its anti-air capability to target his lance without exposing itself to return fire. Danghen was surprised at his enemy’s lack of camouflage but could not place the brown and gold paint scheme of any regiment he was familiar with. He quickly scanned for any other enemies as the volume of fire his lance was exposed to was highly unlikely to have come from this single mech.
He keyed his comms, “Commander, Woolf in position, observe one enemy JM6-A, unknown unit, possible DCMS or mercenary. Advise.”
The Jagermech stood and began to move forward over the ridge, adding autocannon fire to the LRMs tracing back to where Danghen left his lance. He checked his battle grid one more time; it showed his lance engaged with at least one other mech at the original ambush site. Time to go, he thought.
Snow and loose stones chased the fifty-ton battlemech down the short slope as he slid the machine down into the roadway, a moment of vertigo caused the ‘mech to stumble slightly as the gyro tapped into the pilot’s sense of balance to stay on its feet. The actuators strained as the Hunchback stepped off before it had even stopped sliding. So focused on what was happening down the road, the enemy ‘mech had not even noticed the movement off to its right and continued to move towards the ambush site.
Six hundred meters… Danghen checked his damage status and ammunition levels. Other than the damage from the initial bombardment everything looked good. Five hundred meters, he was within maximum range but he wanted to make sure the heavier ‘mech didn’t get to react. Four hundred meters… the range marker ticked off as he closed the distance on the still unaware enemy. Three hundred meters… optimum range was quickly approaching. Two hundred meters… the sound of the autocannon was dampened by the neurohelmet but was still thunderous as the hunchback shook from the recoil. Emerald lances speared the Jagermech along the right arm and leg as the shell hit home, showering the snowy ground with jagged shards of armor. The enemy ‘mech hesitated for a second as if confused at how it had been hit from such a range before turning to address the new threat. The autocannon loading mechanism clunked and Danghen triggered it again before the computer could even register it being ready. A second shell impacted the stunned ‘Jager high on the left torso, spoiling the pilots aim as it returned fire with its own autocannons.
The pilot of the heavier ‘Jager was on his heels as he was suddenly exposed to the charge from the Hunchback. His LRMs would be no good at such close ranges and Danghen knew it as he pushed closer. The high arms would also be at a disadvantage as they could not track together at close range. He needed to get close enough to spit on the cockpit glass. Hesitation cost the ‘Jager pilot another ton of armor as the autocannon hit home again. The enemy pilot quickly realized he lost his range advantage and returned fire with his own lasers, sending steaming armor dripping down the front of the Hunchback as he backed up to try to get back into effective ranges. Snow churned to mud underfoot as the heat from the ‘mechs melted the snow.
Danghen checked the heat monitor as he triggered the lasers again, ”Come on baby, a few more shots,” he said through gritted teeth as a wash of heat seemed to emanate from the floor of the cockpit. Softball sized drops of molten armor rained down from the Jagermech’s damaged right torso, its right arm blackened and smoking as autocannon shells hung loosely from the useless loading mechanism under its armpit. The Hunchback shook violently as the enemy ‘mech’s remaining light autocannon scored a hit on the barrel-like torso. “Is that all you have? COME ON,” he spat at the larger ‘mech. He triggered the heavy autocannon again.
A ball of flame and smoke billowed out of the left torso of the damaged Jagermech and the pilot quickly responded by attempting to turn around and flee over the hill, sparks and loose autocannon shells falling into the muddied slope. Danghen fired his lasers again at the fleeing ‘mech.
“Alpha lance… Commander… enemy suppressed at Nav-point delta, advise on situation…” Danghen checked his battle grid. The icons were switching from blue to red at the top of the road and he couldn’t tell who was really who. The enemy mechwarrior was desperately trying to crest the hilltop in his crippled machine and Danghen hated him, he hated that mechwarrior for possibly killing his lance mates, hated him for ambushing them, hated him for being alone and far from help. He slammed the throttle forward to chase the wounded enemy over the hill.
The target indicators lit up and Danghen triggered his weapons into the back of the Jagermech. The heavy shell hit the enemy directly in the spine of the already savaged mech, nearly breaking it in two as the lasers carved into the internal structure, severing the myomer ‘muscles that allowed the huge machines to move. As the blackened torso of the ‘Jager fell to the snow with a shuddering impact, flames and smoke obscured the pops of remaining autocannon rounds cooking off in the heat, consuming the battered form. The pilot did not eject.
Suddenly the red targeting indicators lit up with a warning, his focus on the wounded ‘Jager left him blind to the battle around him. “Incoming missile,” the disembodied voice told him and repeated several times before the anti-missile system desperately tried to stop the missiles from finding their target. The sound went on for several seconds before the first unchecked missiles hit home, rocking the Hunchback and forcing the gyro to impart a dizzying sense of falling into Danghen’s head. Several red warning lights appeared as armor was blasted off into the snow, leaving the ‘mech’s internal structure dangerously exposed.
“Damn you,” he cursed as he scanned for the new enemy.
He turned his ‘mech towards the left and the bottom of the hill just as an enemy Kintaro let off another volley of missiles, this time short ranged unguided munitions. The SureFire ripped some of the volley from the sky but not enough. “Critical damage,” his computer warned him as he triggered the Tomodzuru autocannon. His aim was off as he misjudged the enemy’s speed, sending the heavy high-explosive shell uselessly into the snow.
“Commander… SITREP… critical damage, engaged near Nav…”, the world shook as the Kintaro managed a lucky shot on the cockpit, Danghen tasted blood and his lip felt unusually long, he was pretty sure he had bitten through it. He pushed the trigger for the mighty autocannon and was rewarded with satisfying noise and recoil, this time sending a shell directly into the chest of the Kintaro. He checked his damage and suppressed a feeling of panic as actuators and systems began changing from green to yellow to red as his ‘mech died around him.
The Kintaro pressed the advantage, it was faster than the damaged Hunchback and was packed with short range missiles and lasers, and it was designed to react to exactly this type of situation. Thick, black moke billowed out of the Hunchback’s torso as the Kintaro circled it, lasers spearing into the jagged holes created by the missiles. The anti-missile system was silent, damaged or destroyed, as more of the deadly SRMs detonated, some inside of the armored skin of the damaged ‘mech. Danghen was washed with heat again as he struggled to bring his lasers to bear on the faster ‘mech to no avail. “Medium laser destroyed, damage critical, heatsink destroyed…” the computer listed off all of the damaged components for what seemed like forever before a monitor shorted with the smell of ozone and a shower of sparks. A crack appeared in the cockpit glass as the Kintaro fired its medium lasers at the autocannon’s housing. Danghen’s world rocked as the chambered round cooked off in the barrel… everything went white then black as the neurohelmet was smashed against the back of the command couch.
He felt a cold breeze against his legs that immediately cause an involuntary shudder. Voices were calling his name. He tasted blood. He was shaking, or being shaken. Danghen opened his eyes and blinked for several seconds as Sergeant Kincaid’s face appeared through the viewport of his helmet.
“Good job Corporal, you managed to get killed”, she said, “Get yourself cleaned up and report for KP, you just earned yourself some extra duty.” She patted the top of the neurohelmet and stepped away, replaced by a medic who removed the bulky device that made him the brain of the killing machine of the 31st century.
“Well, a few stitches should fix you up but you won’t be eating steaks for a while,” he said with a chuckle as he tenderly poked at Danghen’s torn lip.
Danghen shook off the nauseous feeling of disconnecting and looked outside of the simulator pod at the other mechwarriors waiting their turns; several screens replayed the highlights of his match. Some cheered as the Jagermech went down, more cheered as the Hunchback seemed to dissolve from the waist up, and more than a few C-bills changed hands. Some of the gathered mechwarriors frowned at Danghen as others disembarked from their pods, some bruised, some bloody, all exhausted.
“Corporal Steele, Private Walsh, Private Thomas…” Kincaid listed off all of the others who would be joining him in the kitchen that evening. The Jagermech pilot, Carlos Steele, could have peeled the paint off a dropship bulkhead with the look he leveled on Danghen as he removed his own neurohelmet.
Danghen stepped off of the scaffolding and followed the medic to the small table where they were busy patching up the beaten down warriors. He smiled, painfully and thought about how nice it will be to wash some dishes with Steele smoldering like a fusion reactor about to hit critical mass. Got you punk, he thought to himself, next time you will be visiting the medics.
Edit: Revisions and formatting.
Edited by Danghen Woolf, 03 July 2014 - 08:13 AM.
#3
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- Wrath
- 129 posts
Member
- LocationTexas, Holy Terra
Posted 21 April 2014 - 06:36 AM
Awesome Story! I enjoyed it, especially the ending. I think of the current MWO as a massive training excercise, and your story fit perfectly into the way I think about the game. You should write more!
#4
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- Bridesmaid
- 339 posts
Member
- LocationHarlech, Romulus, Outreach
Posted 22 April 2014 - 10:49 AM
Thanks, I appreciate the feedback. I plan on writing more but unfortunately real life seems determined to keep me away. Practice makes perfect and hopefully I will have some more to add soon.
#5
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- Bridesmaid
- 339 posts
Member
- LocationHarlech, Romulus, Outreach
Posted 03 July 2014 - 08:20 AM
FOB Carson
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
7 January 3050
0820 Local Time
“Snow, always snow James,” Danghen said as he held out a cup of steaming coffee to his lead technician . Fine white flakes swirled around them as they opened the door to head out into the main assembly area.
“Yeah, it is hell on the new guys but at least the hangar is heated with all of the ‘mechs in there.” James replied. “So how was KP with your fan club?”
Danghen laughed aloud, “It went as expected, I cooked some food while Carlos tried to kill me with dirty looks. I wish he would try something real-time instead of just trying to take me out in the pods.” He grimaced as the hot coffee touched his stitched lip.
“I hear you, even his tech is a real piece of scrap, you know the other day I saw him shaking the vending machine in the hangar for one of those sawdust protein bars. Who does that?” James blew into his free hand and flexed his fingers against the cold. “I really hate this place.”
“Cheers to nice sandy beaches, bikini girls, a great view, and the best deployment in the Commonwealth.” both smile as James raises his cup. “Oh wait, we are on Aubisson.”
As they walk towards the hangar the snow picks up, blowing and swirling, causing both men to tighten their shoulders and hunch into their parkas a little deeper. The large building housing the battlemechs is low slung in the back indicating that it has most of its level below the surface of the plateau that the FOB sits on. Large doors allow access to the facility but they are only partially open now, steam creeping from the upper portion as warmer air escapes into the cold alpine wind.
The ground begins to thump as a small yellow light begins flashing above the doors. “Wow James, they really like you, looks like a welcoming party meeting you for work.” Danghen chuckles as the large doors begin creaking open.
“Nope, I think they heard your mother was coming for lunch today, figured they would need the recovery vehicle to get her to the table.” James grinned and he moved towards the hangars smaller entrance off to the side.
“Ha-ha man, whatever, just make sure that Slinger is ready for the patrol today, sounds like I have some make-up work to do and the Sergeant still isn’t too happy with my performance the other day.” Danghen yelled to his tech and friend as the snow tried to cover his voice with more snow. I hate this place.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
FOB Carson Briefing Area
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
7 January 3050
0900 Local Time
Blah, blah, blah, can’t this go any faster. “Sergeant, what are we looking for out there? We have been running this same patrol route for a week and the only thing we have seen is snow and ice.” Danghen looked at the other mechwarriors in the room as he stands up in the small briefing room, some noddingtheir agreement with his question.
Sergeant Kincaid narrows her eyes at him and takes a deep breath,”Corporal, that is an excellent question, we are looking for anything that doesn’t look like snow or ice. We are looking for the abominable freaking snowman, we will look for Santa Claus if that is what the Commander tells us we are looking for.” Kincaid scans the assembled group, “Now does anyone else have anything to add?” Before anyone can speak, “Group! ATTENTION!” The mechwarriors snap to their feet in unison. “You know what we have to do and the weather is going to get worse today before it gets better, dismissed!” Chairs shuffle as everyone moves towards the side doors to get out of the suddenly stuffy room.
“Corporal Woolf,” Danghen sighs as he hears his name from inside of the briefing room, “a moment please.” He turns to his lance commander as she exits the room. “I don’t know what your problem is, do you not like me?” Danghen is about to say something when she cuts him off with a wave of her hand, “I don’t care if you like me, I don’t give two Terran shits about your feelings, you will follow orders and you will not waste time in my briefings asking, in your own piss-poor way, why we are here. Is that understood?” She steps so close that he can actually feel the temperature rising with her level of agitation. “Yes Sergeant, understood,” he nods. “Good, mount up, you are with Alpha today, first rotation,” she says as she turns and heads back into the briefing room.
Cheers to the best deployment in the Commonwealth. He grabs his parka and heads towards the small hallway connecting the command facility to the outside. Sandy beaches… He smiles and heads out into the snowstorm.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
FOB Carson Hangar
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
7 January 3050
0915 Local Time
The maintenance of the 20th AG’s mechs are an assault on the senses; grinding, hammering, and technicians yelling over the noise of diesel engines are almost deafening while the smells of ozone, coolant, and cordite make it so you feel dirty just from walking down the narrow “safety lanes” between the hangar gantries. Towering sentinels of technology and destruction stand facing each other from across the wide entry lane marked by red and yellow warning stripes. From the largest of the assault mechs to the smallest scouts, the hangar houses each in its own scaffolded gantry, techs and armorers scrambling to get each one prepared for the day’s missions. Many of the machines are in various states of disassembly for maintenance or repairs of one sort or another. Small trucks rumble by loaded with boxes of ammunition or loaded with group of techs headed to their assigned battlemech. Danghen flags down one of the little carts assigned to get mechwarriors to their machines, shows him his badge since the driver is wearing a pair of earmuffs designed to block out the dangerous levels of noise in the hangar. He has just enough time to toss his go-bag in the back and grab the handhold before the tech steps on the gas, swinging Danghen the rest of the way into the seat. They quickly travel around the hangar, dodging several slower moving carts as well as busy technicians and slow to a stop in front of Danghen’s assigned mech, a battered and much patched Hunchback.
“Good to see you could make it today,” James, covered in several viscous looking fluids yells as the cart rolls to a stop, “she is looking good today, only a small hitch in the right hand actuator from where you took that fall a couple of weeks ago out on the tundra, we still can’t seem to work out why, we have another one on order but it is still maybe a month or two out.” James gestures for one of the junior techs to grab the mechwarrior’s bag and carry it to the cockpit. “You got rotated in to replace Evain’s Centurion, we had to take the leg off at the knee actuator to get it out of the glacier melt she stepped in yesterday. It froze solid and the techs are still trying to put everything back together.”
Danghen looked up at the Hunchback, snow white paint marred only near the barrel of the massive heavy autocannon. Hope we don’t have a repeat of the patrol from the other day. He thought to himself as his lip throbbed. “Looks good James, tell the guys I owe them once I get back, maybe even have time for a couple of hands of poker.”
James smiled, “The boys will always be happy to take some of that good mechwarrior pay off of your hands.” He patted his friend on the shoulder, “Hey man, try not to break her this time.”
“Screw you James, I stop breaking her and you guys will never have any money for me to win.” They shook hands as the tech returned to the bottom of the gantry with a thumbs up. Danghen headed for the steps that would take him to the cockpit.
Edit: Formatting.
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
7 January 3050
0820 Local Time
“Snow, always snow James,” Danghen said as he held out a cup of steaming coffee to his lead technician . Fine white flakes swirled around them as they opened the door to head out into the main assembly area.
“Yeah, it is hell on the new guys but at least the hangar is heated with all of the ‘mechs in there.” James replied. “So how was KP with your fan club?”
Danghen laughed aloud, “It went as expected, I cooked some food while Carlos tried to kill me with dirty looks. I wish he would try something real-time instead of just trying to take me out in the pods.” He grimaced as the hot coffee touched his stitched lip.
“I hear you, even his tech is a real piece of scrap, you know the other day I saw him shaking the vending machine in the hangar for one of those sawdust protein bars. Who does that?” James blew into his free hand and flexed his fingers against the cold. “I really hate this place.”
“Cheers to nice sandy beaches, bikini girls, a great view, and the best deployment in the Commonwealth.” both smile as James raises his cup. “Oh wait, we are on Aubisson.”
As they walk towards the hangar the snow picks up, blowing and swirling, causing both men to tighten their shoulders and hunch into their parkas a little deeper. The large building housing the battlemechs is low slung in the back indicating that it has most of its level below the surface of the plateau that the FOB sits on. Large doors allow access to the facility but they are only partially open now, steam creeping from the upper portion as warmer air escapes into the cold alpine wind.
The ground begins to thump as a small yellow light begins flashing above the doors. “Wow James, they really like you, looks like a welcoming party meeting you for work.” Danghen chuckles as the large doors begin creaking open.
“Nope, I think they heard your mother was coming for lunch today, figured they would need the recovery vehicle to get her to the table.” James grinned and he moved towards the hangars smaller entrance off to the side.
“Ha-ha man, whatever, just make sure that Slinger is ready for the patrol today, sounds like I have some make-up work to do and the Sergeant still isn’t too happy with my performance the other day.” Danghen yelled to his tech and friend as the snow tried to cover his voice with more snow. I hate this place.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
FOB Carson Briefing Area
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
7 January 3050
0900 Local Time
Blah, blah, blah, can’t this go any faster. “Sergeant, what are we looking for out there? We have been running this same patrol route for a week and the only thing we have seen is snow and ice.” Danghen looked at the other mechwarriors in the room as he stands up in the small briefing room, some noddingtheir agreement with his question.
Sergeant Kincaid narrows her eyes at him and takes a deep breath,”Corporal, that is an excellent question, we are looking for anything that doesn’t look like snow or ice. We are looking for the abominable freaking snowman, we will look for Santa Claus if that is what the Commander tells us we are looking for.” Kincaid scans the assembled group, “Now does anyone else have anything to add?” Before anyone can speak, “Group! ATTENTION!” The mechwarriors snap to their feet in unison. “You know what we have to do and the weather is going to get worse today before it gets better, dismissed!” Chairs shuffle as everyone moves towards the side doors to get out of the suddenly stuffy room.
“Corporal Woolf,” Danghen sighs as he hears his name from inside of the briefing room, “a moment please.” He turns to his lance commander as she exits the room. “I don’t know what your problem is, do you not like me?” Danghen is about to say something when she cuts him off with a wave of her hand, “I don’t care if you like me, I don’t give two Terran shits about your feelings, you will follow orders and you will not waste time in my briefings asking, in your own piss-poor way, why we are here. Is that understood?” She steps so close that he can actually feel the temperature rising with her level of agitation. “Yes Sergeant, understood,” he nods. “Good, mount up, you are with Alpha today, first rotation,” she says as she turns and heads back into the briefing room.
Cheers to the best deployment in the Commonwealth. He grabs his parka and heads towards the small hallway connecting the command facility to the outside. Sandy beaches… He smiles and heads out into the snowstorm.
*****************************************************************************************************************************
FOB Carson Hangar
Sheephead Mountains
Aubisson
7 January 3050
0915 Local Time
The maintenance of the 20th AG’s mechs are an assault on the senses; grinding, hammering, and technicians yelling over the noise of diesel engines are almost deafening while the smells of ozone, coolant, and cordite make it so you feel dirty just from walking down the narrow “safety lanes” between the hangar gantries. Towering sentinels of technology and destruction stand facing each other from across the wide entry lane marked by red and yellow warning stripes. From the largest of the assault mechs to the smallest scouts, the hangar houses each in its own scaffolded gantry, techs and armorers scrambling to get each one prepared for the day’s missions. Many of the machines are in various states of disassembly for maintenance or repairs of one sort or another. Small trucks rumble by loaded with boxes of ammunition or loaded with group of techs headed to their assigned battlemech. Danghen flags down one of the little carts assigned to get mechwarriors to their machines, shows him his badge since the driver is wearing a pair of earmuffs designed to block out the dangerous levels of noise in the hangar. He has just enough time to toss his go-bag in the back and grab the handhold before the tech steps on the gas, swinging Danghen the rest of the way into the seat. They quickly travel around the hangar, dodging several slower moving carts as well as busy technicians and slow to a stop in front of Danghen’s assigned mech, a battered and much patched Hunchback.
“Good to see you could make it today,” James, covered in several viscous looking fluids yells as the cart rolls to a stop, “she is looking good today, only a small hitch in the right hand actuator from where you took that fall a couple of weeks ago out on the tundra, we still can’t seem to work out why, we have another one on order but it is still maybe a month or two out.” James gestures for one of the junior techs to grab the mechwarrior’s bag and carry it to the cockpit. “You got rotated in to replace Evain’s Centurion, we had to take the leg off at the knee actuator to get it out of the glacier melt she stepped in yesterday. It froze solid and the techs are still trying to put everything back together.”
Danghen looked up at the Hunchback, snow white paint marred only near the barrel of the massive heavy autocannon. Hope we don’t have a repeat of the patrol from the other day. He thought to himself as his lip throbbed. “Looks good James, tell the guys I owe them once I get back, maybe even have time for a couple of hands of poker.”
James smiled, “The boys will always be happy to take some of that good mechwarrior pay off of your hands.” He patted his friend on the shoulder, “Hey man, try not to break her this time.”
“Screw you James, I stop breaking her and you guys will never have any money for me to win.” They shook hands as the tech returned to the bottom of the gantry with a thumbs up. Danghen headed for the steps that would take him to the cockpit.
Edit: Formatting.
Edited by Danghen Woolf, 03 July 2014 - 08:22 AM.
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