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Blair Mech Project, The
A Clan Star finds something it should not have
by Jeffrey Smith |
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In October of 3054, a star of Jade Falcon MechWarriors disappeared on Lackhove while investigating reports of an old Rim Worlds Republic base.
One year later, their Battle ROMs were found.
***************************
To: Khan Martha Pryde
from: Historian Robin Hmong
My Khan,
As you have requested, I have attempted to discover the fate of Bravo Eye, Trinary Charlie, 8th Talon Cluster following their disappearance in 3054. I have examined the recovered Battle ROMs, and have pieced together what they recorded into a semi-coherent whole.
I must note that neither I nor any other members of my team have any explanation for the data we have assembled. Damage to the ROMs cost us access to anything but audio and visual data, and although the five sets of data are consistent among themselves, it is strange that each BattleMech suffered sensor and communication damage that prevented them from calling for assistance at the same instant. After the second day the warriors were limited to line of site communication, yet this still should have revealed them to the search teams crisscrossing the island by the fifth day. Even more odd, two points of *Vandals* overflew every square meter of that island, yet they never show up in the recovered recordings.
In any case, what follows is the best recreation we can make of the last eight days of Bravo Eye's existence.
*****
The villager looked at Star Commander Heather in incredulity. "You want to go to Blair Island? Are you out of your skull?"
Heather shifted her stance, leaning away from the foot of her *Hellhound* "We have heard reports of an abandoned Rim Worlds base located there, and some of these reports indicate that mysterious events have claimed the lives of the unwary into historical times. If there is any possibility that the followers of the Usurper fled there and continue to pass their beliefs on to their offspring, it is our duty to find out."
The villager blinked, shaking his head in denial. "When your Clan came to this world and freed us from the grip of the pirates who had filled our lives with fear, I swore an oath to serve the Jade Falcons in any way possible. Therefore, I will tell you this, Commander: you will either find nothing, or you will find your doom."
Heather snorted. "Do not underestimate us, Laborer. We are the pinnacle of evolution, redefining what it is to be a warrior. A few bandits in some run down, obsolete 'Mechs will be no challenge to my Star. I hope to meet them and crush them like the vermin they are."
"I hope, for your own sake, that you find nothing at all, Star Commander."
***
"What data have you been able to gather, Star Commander?"
Squinting to shield her eyesight from the glare reflecting off the water, Star Commander Heather turned to Mechwarrior Joshua. Her sibkin was in the cockpit of his *Baboon*, double checking his systems while the commandeered hovercraft transported them to their destination. Finding a craft large enough to transport five BattleMechs had been a chore, but they had finally located one. Mechwarrior Daniel was currently steering the vessel, while Mechwarriors Michael and Eduardo were relaxing on top of their 'Mechs.
"Myths, legends, and other assorted Freebirth nonsense. According to the local population, Blair Island was the home of a band of pirates before the formation of the Rim Worlds Republic. After they were destroyed, the Republic placed the planetary garrison on the main continent, survivors of which fled to the island when the Star League came in the wake of the Usurpation. After destroying the remnants of the garrison, a pair of lances was left on the island by the Star League to garrison it and search for stragglers. When the time to depart for Terra came, the 'Mechs were found, but the Mechwarriors had vanished. A search by an entire division discovered nothing."
Joshua raised his eyebrows. "I assume they searched the RimWorlds base for any sign of terrorists?"
"*Aff*, they found nothing of note there but some artifacts abandoned by the pirates who had once lived here. Many had been looted from nearby worlds, and had been left in strange geometric arrangements. The Star League troops were unable to spend a great deal of time investigating, however - the liberation of Terra awaited them."
"And you believe that whoever slew the Star League soldiers may still live there, *quineg*?"
"*Neg*, but it is remotely possible that their descendants might, and if they continue to hold loyalty to Amaris, they will meet the fate of all his traitorous scum. None who have the taint of the Usurper shall be allowed to live where the might of the Falcon holds sway."
***
Mechwarrior Eduardo's *Nova* was the last 'Mech to descend from the hovercraft. The forest before them was far too dense for the vehicle to force it's way through, but very few trees could stand up to the might of the humanoid war machines piloted by the Falcon Mechwarriors. "We are going to where the Star League 'Mechs were found?"
"*Aff*. After that we will investigate the Rim Worlds base. If we find no useful clues there, we will begin a standard sweep of the remainder of the island. It should take no more than three days, unless we *do* find any followers of the Usurper - in which case it should take even less."
It took the Falcon Mechwarriors less than four hours to reach their first target zone. After conducting a thorough sensor sweep, the warriors dismounted from their 'Mechs to examine the area more carefully.
"Have any of you found anything of note?"
"*Neg*, Star Commander."
"Nor I."
"As our Falconer once stated, we have found Jack Diddly."
"Yes, old Grimaldi was a bit odd in that way. Michael, have you discovered anything?"
"*Neg* Star Commander, this area is clean. We should proceed to our next destination."
"Agreed. We should be able to make it before dark. Let us proceed."
***
"Star Commander, come quickly! I have found something!"
Daniel's report brought the rest of the star into the clearing at a run. "What is it, Daniel?"
"Look at these piles of rock, Commander. They appear to be burial mounds."
Heather peered at the mounds from the cockpit of her *Hellhound*. There were eight, matching the number of missing Star League MechWarriors, but... "*Neg*, they are too small to conceal a body. Daniel and Eduardo, dismount and examine one more closely."
The two Mechwarriors discovered nothing of note under the cairn they disassembled. "There is nothing here, Commander."
"Hmph. We have wasted enough time here. I will mark this location in my database, and we can investigate it more thoroughly if we discover nothing at the base."
"I do not believe we will make it to the base before nightfall, Star Commander."
"*Aff*, we will have to make camp within the hour. Let us proceed, however. I... what was that noise?"
"My apologies, Star Commander, I accidentally stepped on one of these rock piles."
"Be more careful, Joshua, I do not wish to leave evidence that we were here. If there is a threat here, I wish to take them unaware."
****
"Have you located them?"
"Give my sensors a moment to warm up, Commander."
"Michael?"
"There is no sign of foul play, and their 'Mechs are untouched. You awakened us, Star Commander, do you know anything else?"
"*Neg*, I awakened to take my watch to find that Daniel and Eduardo were missing."
"That would have been after Daniel's watch, *quiaff*? And yet his 'Mech is inactive?"
"*Aff*, and Daniel was to relieve Eduardo. Did you notice anything when Eduardo relieved you Joshua?"
"*Neg*, everything was normal. I have just finished a sensor sweep of the area - nothing out of the ordinary is within detection range."
"We will wait another few hours, then head for the hovercraft. It is apparent that there *are* enemies in the area, and I since we are no longer chasing rumors I would prefer to bring the rest of the Trinary in to deal with these bandits."
"What of the 'Mechs?"
"We will not leave them to the bandits. If forced to abandon them, we will destroy them by setting their engines to overload. Michael, prepare to remove their Battle ROMs. Once we return to the mainland we can examine them - perhaps they will tell us what happened."
[Historian note: The two Battle ROMs provided no new information. The last data on MechWarriors Eduardo and Daniel show that Daniel came out of the tent, waved to Eduardo, and began walking toward his 'Mech. At that point Eduardo began to shut down his 'Mech. Mechwarrior Daniel never activated his 'Mech's systems.]
***
"Star Commander, I was under the impression we were returning to the hovercraft."
"We are, warrior."
"My GPS readings must be in error - they state we already should have arrived."
A lengthy pause followed. "Michael, can you confirm?"
"*Aff*, Star Commander. According to my readings we are in the middle of the ocean now."
Another pause. "I have us at grid reference 523.5 by 12.1. Check me."
"Confirm."
"Confirm."
"Something has affected our GPS and inertial readings. I will attempt to reload my database from the satellites." A short wait. "Reload has failed, I am unable to access the system. Joshua, reload your system."
"I am also unable to access the GPS system, nor am I picking anything up from any of the comm sats."
"Nor I, Star Commander."
"I will attempt to send a message... No reply."
"Something odd is happening, Star Commander."
"I am aware of this, Michael. We will continue on our current path until we reach the shore, then circle the island until we find the hovercraft."
"*Aff*, Star Commander."
"*Aff*"
****
"Star Commander, we should stop and set up camp."
"We can not be far from the shore now, Michael. We should continue."
"Commander, we should have reached the shore hours ago. Proceeding further in the dark will only leave us open to ambush."
"Are you questioning my leadership, Mechwarrior?"
"Not at this time, Commander."
"This is good, for I would be forced to kill you in a Circle of Equals, and we cannot afford the distraction."
"Commander, with all due respect, Michael is right. This island is only so large, and there is no conceivable reason we should not have reached a shoreline by now. Some force is affecting our systems as it is, and without reliable sensors an ambush at this point would cost us dearly."
"Perhaps you are right. I would prefer to continue, but perhaps that is just what our enemies wish us to do."
***
"Alert!"
Heather awakened in her cockpit, immediately bringing her systems off standby and to full power. "Report."
"We are surrounded by hostiles on all sides."
"I detect nothing, Joshua."
"*Listen*, Star Commander."
Cranking her external microphones to maximum, Heather is able to hear odd crackling and scraping sounds in a circle roughly centered on their campsite. Powering her spotlight revealed nothing. "What *is* that?"
"Unknown."
Heather activated her speakers. "Come and face us like warriors, cowardly surats." There was no reaction to her challenge.
"I am prepared to attack, Star Commander."
"*Neg*, that is probably what they want. We will force them to come to us."
The sounds continued for another hour, then suddenly stopped. Daybreak revealed nothing.
***
"We are lost."
"We are *not* lost, Michael. We cannot be far from the shoreline."
"That is what you stated yesterday, Commander."
"That is *enough*! I, Star Commander Heather of the Jade Falcons, challenge you to a...."
"Commander, we do not have *time* for this!"
"Perhaps you are correct, Joshua, but *I* am in charge here, and you will both follow my orders. *Is that clear*!?"
"*Aff*, Commander."
A slight pause. "*Aff*"
***
"Commander, come quickly! There are odd cultish objects here!"
Heather and Joshua came at the top speed their 'Mechs could carry them. When they reached the top of the hill they stopped dead. Hanging from the trees were a series of strange stick figures. Eight small ones orbited a larger one, all freely rotating in the wind."This is strange."
"I do not understand the purpose of these objects, Commander."
"Nor I, Joshua."
"We should proceed, Star Commander. These stick figures make me uneasy."
"I too, Michael. Let us leave a beacon so we can return to this spot with the rest of our unit. I believe it would be best to leave them undisturbed until we have reinforcements."
Despite her words, Heather cut down one of the smaller figures while her Starmates proceeded.
***
"Star Commander, the noises are back!"
Heather had already been awakened by them. The noises were louder than they had been yesterday. "This is ridiculous. How can we fight what we cannot see?"
"I don't know."
"Language, sibkin."
"With all due respect Heather, to Hades with my language."
"There!" Michael shouted. His *Adder* sent forty LRMs streaking into the night. Heather whirled her *Hellhound* around, seeking Michael's target. "Zellbriegen be damned." she muttered without activating her radio. "What did you see, Michael?"
"I.... am unsure. I *thought* I saw something...."
"Damn you, Mechwarrior, do not waste ammunition because of your fears."
"*Fears*?! Once we are off this island, you will meet me in a Circle of Equals for that Heather!"
"I look forward to it - you should never have been permitted to join the Warrior Caste as it is, and I will rectify that error."
"Trothkin, please! There are other enemies to occupy our attention"
"Fine, then *show me one*! I can't attack sounds!" In her frustration, she fired the pulse laser mounted on her 'Mech's right arm. The emerald bolts stuttered into the night, having no effect on the infuriating sounds.
"Calm yourself, Star Commander, do not allow their psychological games to weaken you."
***
"We are going in circles."
"Nonsense - we have been heading south all day."
"Commander, look at that tree. That is the one I destroyed last night."
Indeed, the tree had been knocked down by some form of explosive volley. "That is not possible. We have been proceeding in a straight line for eleven hours."
"Possible or not, it is there."
"We shall make camp here, then, but let us explore the area before we do - I wish to see where the bandits are able to hide, so we can surprise them tonight.
***
"Joshua, where are you!'
"What has happened, Star Commander?"
"Joshua is not in his 'Mech."
"Did he leave it to relieve himself?"
"*Neg*, he is not within sensor range." Cranking up her speakers to full gain, she repeated her cry. "JOSHUA!"
"Did you not notice when he left it?"
"*Neg*, and I should have, unless he chose to remain silent for reasons of his own. JOSHUA, WHERE ARE YOU?"
"JOSHUA!"
"We will search the area."
The search revealed nothing.
***
"Commander, do you hear that?"
"Yes!" It was Joshua! He was crying out, as if in pain.
"JOSHUA!"
"TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE JOSHUA!"
"JOSHUA!"
It was not possible that Joshua did *not* hear them - they were sending out 100 decibel blasts of sound from their 'Mechs, while he was merely using a pair of unaugmented lungs. Yet Joshua only continued his inarticulate cries.
"Where is he?"
"I can't localize him! It's coming from all around us! JOSHUA! TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!"
Joshua did not cooperate, and his voice faded with the other sounds when dawn approached.
***
When Heather left her 'Mech the next day to stretch, she noted the small bundle of sticks on the ground. Her head jerked around, searching for threats, but none were in evidence. Glancing back at the safety her active BattleMech represented, she slowly opened the package, jumping back with a soft cry.
There, nestled in some strips torn from his jumpsuit and covered with blood, lay Joshua's codex.
***
"What are you doing, Commander?"
"I'm just washing my hands. We're moving on - Joshua is lost to us. Remove his Battle ROM and prepare to destroy his 'Mech."
Pause. "Aye."
***
That night, Heather made a note in her 'Mech's log. "I wish... to apologize to my Star Captain, to my Falconer, and to the House of Buhallin, for I have failed in my duty. I have lost 60% of my unit to no gain, and have been utterly unable to escape with my remaining Starmate and myself. It is unclear what we are dealing with - Pirates, the descendants of the Rim Worlders, Steel Vipers, Inner Sphere scum, or something else entirely - but I am beginning to suspect that whatever is stalking us will finish with us soon. My only hope now is that, someday, these records will be recovered so that it will be known that my Starmates were true Falcon warriors to the end."
She paused. "I accept my coming death, and only pray to take a few enemies with me into oblivion."
***
The sounds began again, on their mysterious schedule. The rocks, the children's laughter, and Joshua's unholy cries of torment.
Heather and Michael were waiting.
"Are you ready?"
"*Aff*. I tire of sitting passively, let us finish this."
The *Hellhound* and *Adder* sprang to life, sprinting down the path they had selected. Trap or no trap, they could remain on the defensive no longer. Even when the two Falcon BattleMechs were running at the insanely dangerous speed of ninety kilometers per hour the sounds were able to stay ahead of them.
The path, however, did not lead to nowhere, as they had expected.
"It is a base, Star Commander!"
"*Aff*, it matches the description of the pirate base destroyed by the Rim Worlders. I was told it had been flattened."
The base certainly looked destroyed - but not flattened. Gaping pits yawned where weapon emplacements had been vaporised, and vines overgrew the decaying walls, but many of the structures were still standing.
"Joshua's voice appears to be coming from that tower."
"Let us see if our enemies can flee a building with only one egress. Up the ramp, Trothkin."
The two BattleMechs slowly proceeded up the tower, rotating their torso constantly while searching for targets. They found nothing, and silence fell as they reached the top - until Joshua's voice came again from the basement.
Michael sprinted down the ramp. "I'm coming Joshua!"
"Michael, wait!"
The *Adder* skidded to a stop in the basement, searching for targets, and then...
[Historian's note: The recording from MechWarrior Michael's *Adder* ceases at this point]
"Michael!" The *Hellhound* proceeded into the basement at it's best speed. "Michael!"
The *Hellhound* rounded the corner. There, facing the corner, was the undamaged but motionless form of the *Adder*. "Michael!"
A mighty blow struck the *Hellhound* without sound or warning. It fell facedown, the last few seconds of data showing nothing but the dark ground.
***
As you no doubt know, my Khan, the Battle ROMs were found wrapped in a cooling vest and hidden in the ash of the ruined pirate base. Our Historian-Caste team, assembling a report on the fall of the Rim Worlds Republic, stumbled across them entirely by accident.
Barring the recovery of more information, we are unable to conclude what happened to Star Commander Heather's unit. Since the island in question is devoid of natural resources useful to our Clan, we recommend that it be placed off limits until further data can be gathered. A sizable minority of my team also recommends the island be used as a targeting point for WarShips completing system tests. |
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