Star People

Chapter 15

The Calm Before the Next Storm

July 7^th, 12 AE…

It had been five months since the encounter with the Planet Ravager, and Free Land was still on alert, should the doomsday device resurface. With its core unaccounted for, the Star Alliance couldn’t let its guard down. As a result, all surveillance satellites and drones were on a constant, 24hour watch for any signs of the Cryterian menace. More cruisers and destroyers had been brought down to the planet, as well as another carrier, the Lexington.

Two Supernova-class battleships had been brought down to the surface as well; the Iowa and the Illinois. They were about two-and-a-half times larger than the Missouri. Each sported four, triple pulsar gun turrets and dual neo-proton wave guns. Each had its own defense fleet of 15 destroyers and 20 cruisers.

Aboard the bridge of the Lexington, Admiral Silana looked over the tactical displays on the main holo-viewer. She was actually the younger sister of Admiral Tarhesse. Her carrier and Starfighter Wings, the 239^th Heavy Fighters and 99^th Star Hawks, had been patrolling the southwestern portion of the Vados continent since they had landed on the planet two months ago.

After being devastated by the Planet Ravager and its hordes of mechanoids, the Empire of Euracon had slid further down in its decline. It all began when Emperor Xerall Shilor had been assassinated two weeks after he had been crowned. Backstabbing seemed to be a normal part of Euracon’s government and it happened quite frequently. No sooner had the assassin proclaimed himself as the true Emperor; he was immediately killed by another who aimed for the throne. This set off a domino effect of successive killings and a civil war erupted among the nobility of Euracon. Each noble made plays for power against the others, with total control over Euracon as the prize.

Of course, this didn’t help the citizens of Euracon, as they suffered from the lack of leadership and government. At this point, it wasn’t even considered an empire, as its cities and states started breaking up and declaring themselves as their own independent entities. Naturally, this led to Euracon losing its superpower status. Nearly half of the Euracon population had fled their nation and became refugees. Some did manage to immigrate to island nations, and a few even made it to the Merdov continent.

For those who had decided to stay, it was basically a struggle to just survive. Crime had skyrocketed and anarchy was the only constant a citizen could depend on. Even the smallest morsel of food was something that anyone would kill for. The nobles had to employ their own private armies to keep the peasants from raiding their dwindling stores. The economy was in shambles and the Glive was near-worthless. Not that gold and jewels were worth much in Euracon either. As of now, they were just seen as lumps of soft, yellow metal and shiny stones. And one cannot eat metal or stone.

There were no farmlands left after the mechanoid attacks and the wildlife was scarce, which meant poor hunting overall. The only places that were still habitable were the port cities, and they were bursting at the seams with refugees looking for food or trying to immigrate to other countries. Fishing seemed to be the only source of sustenance in Euracon, and with their transportation infrastructure in shambles, there was just no way to bring it to the starving people living in the interior of the nation.

Of course, all of the country’s woes were blamed on Free Land, though that did not help the citizens. They were too busy in trying to survive to the next day. The people of the Star Alliance had wiped their hands clean of any further involvement with the Underhanded Country. As for the other nations, they too had decided not to get involved with Euracon. After all, they all had more pressing concerns.

With the Planet Ravager core unaccounted for, Free Land had to prepare for its inevitable return. Furthermore, since it was possible for the death machine to appear anywhere on the planet, some nations had petitioned Free Land to allow them to have some means to defend themselves. After much discussion, the Council of Prime Directors had decided to set up more military bases on the continent of Merdov, Bisra, Excra and Vados. Furthermore, they would allow a limited number of Battle-Mechs and pilots to be assigned to those bases, as well train a few Istaria natives to become pilots themselves.

The nations became very excited to learn that some of their people were going to be able to pilot the giant metal soldiers. The one most excited was the Nation of Atlans. In the last few months, they were the ones who had benefitted the most from Free Land’s Technology Share Laws. At this point, they had almost completely replaced their Army Air Corps biplane fighters with P-40 Warhawks. The simple and rugged design proved to be quite versatile, and they had already made a seaplane variant and one that could be launched from aircraft carriers. The original engine was improved upon with a two-stage turbocharger, allowing the plane to reach higher altitudes and greater speeds. They had also begun experimenting with rocket technology. They could only make crude, unguided rockets with limited range, but that still gave the Atlans military a much needed boost in firepower. And with rocket technology now being considered, some scientists in Atlans began to look to the stars with new wonderment. In their heads, they began to think the same thing.

Could we join Free Land among the stars?

Some scientists and engineers from Atlans had even petitioned the Council of Prime Directors to allow them to visit either the Star Alliance Fleet or one of their orbital colonies. This was still under consideration.

For other nations, such as the dwarven Kingdom of Merin, entering the technological age of the first half of 20^th Century Earth opened up new possibilities. The Bessemer process and arc-welding had been boons to their metalworking industries, improving on their economy and quality of products. Now Free Land had introduced them to a few new concepts; mechanized hydraulics, fluid mechanics and actuators. The idea of using volumes of fluids to produce physical energy fascinated the dwarven population. Their minds were completely blown when they observed the Terran engineer use a moderate amount of force to lift an object weighing more than 4 tons on a hydraulic lift. Though this was not even close to the ‘fluid motors’ of the Battle-Mechs and Mech-Frames, this gave several dwarven engineers ideas about building their own ‘metal soldiers and workers.’

As the lesser nations began to embrace Free Land’s outdated technology and started to improve on their way of living, one country in particular finally had to admit that they weren’t exactly the top superpower of the world.

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March 17^th, 12 AE…

Flashback, a month after the battle with the Planet Ravager...

Captain Visteria could only wonder who would meet with them as she and the rest of the fighter escorts approached the coastline of the Alder Continent. Flying beside them was Ambassador Gildor’s transport, the Flying Angel. It was about the size of an old DC-3 aircraft, but was shaped like a ship. It had two nacelles on the side for forward propulsion, while the underside was equipped with gravity-defying spellstones. In a way, it was the same principles used by the Missouri, but was far less efficient. It had a top speed of about 650 km/hr or just over 400 mph. The Sky Blade fighters were just able to keep up with it.

Within the cabin of the Flying Angel, Ambassador Gildor and his aides were discussing how they were going to approach their foreign relations counterparts and the Council of Prime Directors. Several had suggested a high-handed approach to maintain their status of being the top superpower, but Gildor and the others shot down that suggestion. After all, it was only a month ago that Free Land had saved the continent of Vados from the Planet Ravager’s mechanoid hordes. It wouldn’t make them look good to be condescending towards their saviors. Furthermore, the reports from observers clearly show Free Land to be highly advanced and possess enough firepower to bring any nation to its knees, including Naran. It wouldn’t be a good thing to anger Free Land. The Empire of Sath learned that lesson the hard way.

Gildor was elderly, even by normal elf standards. He was well over 480 years old. Unlike the divine elves such as King Vilgar Sensherine IX, with life spans of over 5,000 years, common elves lived about as long the reptilian Velor, with an average life expectancy of half a millennium.

At that moment, the Flying Angel’s pilot and co-pilot announced, that they had just received word that two Starfighters had been sent to escort them to the landing area at New Pearl Harbor. Furthermore, they were also informed that they were on a parallel fight path with the Missouri.

“Isn’t that the rumored flying battleship?” Gildor asked.

“Rumor nothing! There it is!” One of the aides cried out as he pointed out from a nearby observation window on the port side.

Everyone crowded the observation window and collectively gasped as they saw the star battleship leisurely cruising beside them at the same altitude and from one kilometer away. They simply could not believe that something so massive could move through the air with such ease. Comparing the Flying Angel with the Missouri was like comparing a guppy to a leviathan.

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On the Missouri’s main observation deck, Captain Delan smiled as he looked upon the diplomat’s ship. He could imagine that the diplomats’ jaws were all dropped after seeing the star battleship in flight.

“Captain?”

Mark smiled as he looked over his shoulder and saw a familiar face approach him. It was his First Officer and wife, Commander Relan. She had just returned from maternity leave and resumed her position as the Missouri’s second-in-command. Like all Kyteeri, she had recovered quickly from childbirth and had already regained her voluptuous figure.

“Hello Commander. Anything to report?”

“I suppose you already know, but the diplomats from the Kingdom of Naran have just entered Free Land airspace.”

“Yes, I can see that. They should be meeting up with the Star Hawks that have been assigned to escort them. Ah, there they are.”

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To the amazement of the diplomatic party and their Sky Blade escorts, two Free Land Starfighters streaked past them at mind-boggling speeds, and then turned about to fly in formation with them. In the lead Sky Blade, Captain Visteria recognized the markings on one of the Star Hawks. She activated her magic communicator on an open frequency.

“This is Captain Visteria of the 21^st Sky Blade Wing. Is that you, Captain Wittens?”

“Captain Visteria, it’s good to hear from you again. Yes, this is Captain Wittens of the 124^th Star Hawk Wing. We’re here to guide you and the diplomats to the landing area next to New Pearl Harbor. Please follow us.”

The two Star Hawks diverged from their current headings and led the diplomatic party toward their final destination.

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Fifteen minutes later…

Visteria climbed down from her Sky Blade after landing and turning off her magical thrusters. She then took off her helmet and shook her shoulder-length, blonde hair. Her pointed ears accented her oval face and her emerald eyes. Her figure was lithe and quite pleasing to the eyes. Her flight suit hugged her curves and several of the maintenance crews and pilots gazed upon her with interest. She paid them no mind as she was used to such stares. She briskly walked away from the hanger where her Sky Blade would be stored, taking care to activate the defense spell to keep anyone from accessing the cockpit or other sensitive areas of her fighter.

As she walked onto the runway, she saw Captain Wittens’ Star Hawk flying toward her hanger. Then to her amazement, the Starfighter slowed down and stopped in midair. Then it simply descended toward the ground in a smooth motion. Panels on its belly opened up to reveal landing gear. The Star Hawk made a flawless touchdown some fifty feet in front of her. Then its engines powered down and the canopy opened up. A small boarding ladder extended itself from the right side, allowing the pilot to disembark.

As Captain Wittens exited his fighter, Visteria stood up straight and at attention. As he turned around and took off his helmet, she beheld a very rugged and handsome face. He appeared to be human and his eyes were a rich, hazel color. He stood about 6’3” and his physique was slim, yet muscular. His hair was a light, russet color and styled in a short, but efficient manner. She could feel her heart skip a beat.

Remembering proper protocol, she immediately banished all frivolous thoughts, and promptly saluted him.

“Captain Wittens, I am Captain Visteria of Naran. It’s a pleasure to finally meet face to face. I still need to thank you for saving my life, and the lives of my subordinates.”

“It’s my pleasure to meet with you as well, Captain Visteria. And I did what any pilot would have done, so don’t worry about it.” James saluted back, and then motioned for her to follow him. They would soon join up with the Naran diplomats, the other Sky Blade pilots and a few Free Land diplomats.

Before long, they all entered a large shuttlecraft and were on their way to Polaris City. They would tour the sights and would be given the warmest of welcomes. The next day, they would meet with the Council of Prime Directors.

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One hour later…

“What is that huge thing?” Ambassador Gildor asked as he pointed outside the window.

Captain Wittens looked out the window and nodded before replying.

“That’s the Colony Ship Mayflower. It was the home to over 50,000 people after our world, the Earth was destroyed.”

“You called it a ship. Is it able to fly like the Missouri?”

“Technically speaking, yes, it is still considered as spaceworthy. However, after landing on this world a year ago, most of the Mayflower’s population has settled in Polaris City. The ship itself has become nothing more than a monument and museum of sorts. Cities such as Andromeda, Sirus, Vega and others have done the same and their colony ships are basically empty. There has been some discussion as to whether we should just dismantle those ships as we don’t have any plans to launch them again. Others wish to keep the ships as they are, for sentimental and historical reasons.”

“Do you think that we could get a tour of the Mayflower?”

“I suppose that could be arranged.” James shrugged his shoulders.

The colony ships were basically empty husks as most of their technology had been removed and repurposed. Since all weapons and military hardware had been stripped, along with its main power core, touring the ships would not be a breach of the New World Technology Share Laws. It wouldn’t take much to re-install their drives and other components to get them flying again, but as Captain Wittens had stated before, there were no plans to have the colony ships operational again.

That is until the Planet Ravager had appeared.

Although the Council was fairly confident that they would eventually defeat the Cryterian destroyer of worlds, there was still the possibility of failure. The colony ships would be their final resort if this planet could not be saved from the same fate as their former homeworlds.

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That night…

Ambassador Gildor’s Journal Entry 14,658…

We have entered a land of wonders and miracles. It pains me to say this, but compared to Free Land, our own glorious Kingdom of Naran is nothing more than a simple hamlet. There is virtually nothing in Naran that cannot be achieved in Free Land. I had thought that our Sky Blades were unmatched, until I saw the demonstration of the ‘starfighters’ today. The sheer speed, power and ability of these craft are simply unbelievable! It is my honest opinion that if we were to go up against these Star Hawks and Byattas, our Sky Blades would not stand a chance!

And it isn’t just their air force that is amazing. Their ground forces and navies are equally as astounding. I can see why the Empire of Sath wasn’t able to put up a fight, and I would doubt that we would fare any better if we were to challenge them. I must emphasize to the king to never make an enemy out of Free Land.

They claim to come from the stars and I find it hard not to believe them. Their science technology far exceeds anything we have accomplished with our magic technology. They have invented things that we have never dreamed was possible. Even the most average of citizen is able to enjoy a high standard of living. Free Land’s civilian technology is to be envied as much as their military. Infrastructure, transportation, storage, medicine, exploration, construction, public works, energy; the list goes on and on. I would be hard-pressed to think of something that the people of Free Land had not already invented.

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March 18^th, 12 AE…

“On behalf of the Council of Prime Directors and the citizens of Free Land, we welcome the ambassadors and visitors from the Kingdom of Naran, as well as from the other nations as well.” Director Benjamin Rodera announced as he raised his glass. The other Directors raised their glasses in toasting their guests.

The Naran diplomats did likewise as people applaud and cheered around them. The gathering was an elaborate and festive congregation. This was in the Grand Conference Hall of Polaris, where most conventions and political gatherings took place. The delegates from Naran were amazed at the variety of food and drink that was set in front of them on a large, long buffet table.

The diplomats were first shown the history of the Star Alliance on a large holo-viewscreen, which included an overview of the various species that comprise the population of Free Land; the Terrans, the Kyteeri, the Catians, the Velor and the Nemonians. Ambassador Gildor was astounded after confirming that the Free Landers were from the stars and that there were numerous colonies existing beyond the planet itself. Several of his aides began to ask if they would be allowed to visit those colonies and get a chance to see what lay beyond their world.

The Kyteeri were of very special interest as Gildor and the elf members of the diplomatic group began asking them of their magical abilities and how they were able to invoke them, without resorting to chanting or using artifacts. Some began to relate the legend of the so-called blue-skinned elves that descended from the heavens some 3,000 years ago and asked if they Kyteeri were related. Realan and the others had to shake their heads and say they hadn’t heard of any such tale in their history.

In addition to elves, there were a few dwarf, beastkin and human members among the delegates from Naran, as well as from the other nations such as Atlans and even the Empire of Sath. Many were interested in one particular piece of Free Land technology, the Battle-Mechs. However, since they were considered as core technology and military-class, Free Land couldn’t answer any questions on how they worked, nor could they sell the technology to other nations. However, when the issue of the Planet Ravager came up, the Council had to concede that the other countries needed measures to defend themselves against its threat. Therefore, the New World Technology Share Laws had to be loosened somewhat when it came to international defense.

The mechanoids could be defeated by physical means and certain energy attacks, though using magic directly against them or the Planet Ravager was out of the question. Lesser types such as the spiders, crabs and starfish could be individually defeated by the medieval and early 19^th century-level projectile weapons. However, the main problem came down to sheer force of numbers. The other nations needed more firepower.  Throwing rocks from catapults just wasn’t going to cut it against a swarm of mechanoids.

To that end, the Council of Prime Directors had decided to provide to all the major nations, limited military technology that were the equivalent of the late 1930’s on Earth. Muzzle-loading cannons and flintlocks were replaced with breech-loading versions. The self-contained cartridge became the standard and new military tactics were introduced. The human massed wave attacks were seen as obsolete and wasteful and would no longer be practiced.

As for defense, all major cities and smaller towns were to be given portable barrier systems and power generators. New Free Land bases were to be set up and each were to have a Battle-Mech division on hand to deal with any sudden mechanoid attacks. And since this was a very special case, Free Land would need to train a limited number of Battle-Mech pilots from the native population.

They wouldn’t be piloting the full-sized Battle-Mechs though. They would be using the smaller versions that were meant for urban combat and light assault. These were only three meters tall and were armed with mini-vulcan guns, shot-burst cannons, with armored manipulators and small pile-bunkers for melee combat. The Mini-Mechs or Micro-Mechs were especially useful in close-quarters and sometimes the Combat Engineering Division would use them instead of their regular Engineering-Mechs. Another name for the walking mini-tanks was Scrappers.

Of course, Star Alliance personnel would be sent to monitor, maintain, repair and oversee the operation of all this loaned technology. Everything was equipped with a shut-down program and self-destruct mechanism to prevent abuse and theft. Any attempt to disassemble or steal the technology would result in that nation being blacklisted from using it. However, if the nations were to learn the principles and come up with their own designs, then there would be no helping it. In any case, Star Alliance technology was far too advanced for just about everyone on the planet and the Council felt that whatever the other nations came up with, would most likely be inferior in comparison. The main purposes for the loaned technology was for anti-Mechanoid defense, disaster relief and the occasional Behemoth attacks.

The huge monsters that the Star Alliance had encountered on the Alder continent were actually mutated versions of the regular monsters that frequented the other nations. Due to the huge amounts of magic ore in Alder, Behemoths were created on a much more frequent basis. The giant monsters did appear now and then in the Merdov, Excra, Bisra and Vados continents, and it would take a huge amount of resources and manpower to bring one down. In most cases, a considerable number of lives would be lost in subjugating a Behemoth. However, with the introduction of the Scrappers, such attacks would be handled more easily and save more lives.

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As the diplomats and the Council continued with their negotiations, a certain Sky Blade pilot was looking for a certain Star Hawk pilot. She smiled as she recognized Captain James Wittens standing nearby and speaking with several other Star Hawk and Byetta pilots. Taking a deep breath, Captain Visteria walked over to him. Then she noticed her.

She was a blue-skinned elf woman, no a Kyteeri woman, and had a uniform very similar to what officers of the Free Land Air Forces wore. She was about the same height as her but had lavender-colored hair done up in a simple ponytail. The Kyteeri woman’s figure was also a bit more voluptuous than Vesteria’s.

At that point, James noticed Vesteria approaching and gave her a nod.

“Hello again, Captain Wittens.”

“Hello again, Captain Vesteria. I trust you are enjoying yourself?”

“I am. And who might this be?”

The blue-skinned woman nodded as she introduced herself. “I am Commander Miriyo of the 251^st Heavy Fighter Wing.”

“She’s also my wife.” James added.

“Your… wife?” Vesteria said as the shock registered.

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July 15^th, 12 AE…

Back to the present…

“Captain? Are you all right?”

Visteria shook her head to clear it as she stepped out of the flight simulator. It had been over 4 months since the delegate conference between Free Land and Naran. Since that time, she had been trying to bury herself in her work. She needed something to keep her mind off the fact that Captain James Wittens was already married. She did feel some attraction to him, but she was not a home-wrecker.

After the negotiations were finalized between the Star Alliance and the other nations, new armaments and technology had been exported to all the major superpowers. For Naran and Atlans, they were given several devices called ‘combat simulators’ in order to help them train and develop new tactics against Flying-Type mechanoids. The simulators used a virtual, holographic display with enhanced tactile stimulator systems that actually made the trainee feel as if he was flying a Sky Blade in combat.

The Sky Blades themselves received some upgrades as their magic autocannons had been replaced with 20mm revolver-type cannons and gunsights. This lessened the strain a pilot had in feeding magic into his/her fighter. The Naran engineers were also given a crash course in more modern aerodynamics and the principles behind more effective airframes. The successor to the Sky Blade was being planned and the engineering teams believed that they could go from drawing board to prototype in another five months or so.

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In the Empire of Sath, Empress Lexina Lorcra nodded as she read the latest reports. Thanks to the support of Free Land, the economy had stabilized somewhat and food production had greatly increased. The remaining two Dragon Fleets had been modernized with nearly all sailing ships being converted into steam-driven, screw-propelled versions. After learning the principles of buoyancy and early 20^th century shipbuilding techniques, Sath ships became more streamlined and efficient.

Instead of a military-first approach, the Empress had decided on an approach of international, mutual benefit. Thanks to the Free Land improvements in transportation, infrastructure and production, the Empire became a central hub of commerce with the surrounding nations and its former vassal states. At this point, the Verlado was now worth 10 Neublins.

However, they weren’t defenseless as they too had been given some improvements in military hardware. Semi-automatic rifles such as the M1 Garand were now being produced in the Sath Empire, and the rifled gun barrel greatly increased accuracy and range on ships. Rudimentary fire control systems were being introduced, as well as the revolving turret. This greatly reduced the number of guns needed on a ship and increase efficiency.

The only thing that they didn’t give up on was their wyvern air force. As a result, they had begun rebuilding their Wyvern Knight Corps. To compensate for their obsolete method of air travel, they had been developing oxygen masks and g-force suits to withstand greater altitudes and harsher maneuvers. The basic principles were provided by Free Land, as well as the production methods needed to create them. With the introduction of lightweight, composite materials, the Sath had also begun giving their mounts better armor protection against small arms and light machine gun fire. They were even successful in mounting a lightweight machine gun on the wyverns with small magazine. It was if they wanted to push their ancient flying steeds as far as they could, instead of admitting that they were too outdated to compete. There was even some talk of putting small boosters on their wyverns for short bursts of speed.

Other nations, such as the Kingdom of Vereles, saw that the age of riding great beasts was over and had retired its Sky Knight Corps. With the Kingdom of Atlans switching over to the P-40 Warhawk, the biplane was no longer considered a top military secret. As a result, they started to export the obsolete fighter to other nations. Furthermore, Atlans had received blueprints and examples of more efficient internal combustion engines from Free Land. As a result, designs for better, more powerful tanks began to emerge. However, like the dwarves of the Kingdom of Merin, they were most interested in creating a Battle-Mech of their own someday. The dwarves already had a prototype on the drawing board and the Atlans military was anxious to catch up to them.

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July 19^th, 12 AE…

“That’s right, push down on the pedals as if you were walking.” Sergeant Ardi directed as Sergeant Jans sat in the Trainer Mech Unit. The Catian had just been recently promoted, as was his friend Sergeant Vincent Mardo. The machine was simply a large, boxlike structure with sensors and actuators that simulated the movements of an actual Battle-Mech. It was currently set to mimic the operations of a Scrapper.

Akar was almost overwhelmed as he began taking his first steps inside the simulator. The cockpit was exactly the same as a Scrapper Mech, with all readouts properly translated. The simulator shook and vibrated as if he was actually moving within the Mech itself.

“The right controller lever is for right arm manipulator while the left lever is for the left arm. Try a few basic movements.”

The Atlans officer was amazed at how easy it was to move in the simulator. Before long, he was easily able to walk, run, jump and turn as if his own body was moving. The Catian corporal nodded as he saw that Akar Jans had already grasped the basics of Mech-Frame movement. It wouldn’t take long for him to begin training in an actual Scrapper.

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“So this is a Scrapper?” Lieutenant Lenns asked in awe.

“Yes, it is.” Sergeant Mardo affirmed as he and Lenns stood on one of the training grounds of Battle-Mech Base.

The Mini-Mech was humanoid in shape and was a little larger than an ancient FT-17 Renault tank of World War I. It had a large main body where the cockpit was situated. It looked as if someone had taken a small van, chopped off the rear half of it, and then put arms and legs on it. As they walked around it, Vincent began going over its specifications.

“This is the Urban Combat and Light Assault Battle-Mech Mark III, commonly referred to as the Scrapper. It weighs in at about 6 metric tons and its main armor is composed of hyper-duralenium alloy composite. It’s powered by a pair of micronized, meson/anti-meson batteries. It’s also equipped with a g-force nullifier system and low-density, electrically-powered plasma boosters. It has a top running speed of about 30 km/hr but if you engage the nullifier and boosters; you can jet across open terrain at about 85 km/hr or just over 50 mph.”

“It can go that fast?” Lenns asked in surprise.

“It can. Its main armaments include a pair of mini-Gatling guns on the torso, and two, shot burst cannons on the arms. You can think of them as big shotguns. They can also be equipped with different Combat Packs, depending on the mission, such as grenade launchers, missile launchers, demolition charges, added armor, etc. Each manipulator is equipped with a pile-bunker on the forearms for melee combat or demolitions.”

“What’s a pile bunker?”

Mardo used a small remote to activate the Scrapper. The Mech powered up and extended an arm. From a cylindrical device mounted on the forearm, a metal spike shot out at high speed for a second, and then retracted back into its housing. Hodder’s eyes widened in amazement.

“That’s a reinforced, plandanium tip with a muzzle velocity of over 300 meters per second. That’s more than enough to punch through a mechanoid’s crystalline shell and destroy its core. It can also smash through most building materials with ease.”

“That’s a pretty savage weapon.”

“The mechanoids are pretty savage themselves.”

“Point taken.”

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Aug 12^th, 12 AE…

The Council of Prime Directors Conference Chamber…

“So what are the latest reports?” Benjamin asked.

“There still hasn’t been any sightings yet of the Planet Ravager.” Anida announced. “There’s some speculation that the core may not be hiding, but was completely destroyed during its last battle.”

“That is not possible.” Nasaak stated. “We would have detected any residual energy readings if it had been destroyed. And that launcher device was definitely activated. On Catlana, we made the mistake of assuming a Ravager’s core had been destroyed, only for it to come back and bite our tails a few months later.”

“I agree with Nasaak.” Nerto said while nodding. “On our planet of Veloria, the Ravager’s core hid itself under the sands of the Ardria Desert and didn’t show up again until a year later.”

“So all we can do now is wait.” Benjamin commented.

At that moment, the Omega-Level Alarm went off as the main holo-viewer began displaying a map of the Bisra Continent.

The Planet Ravager had been found.

To be continued…

Author’s Notes

The Mini-Mechs or Scrappers are based on mecha found in one of my favorite run-and-gun arcade games, the Metal Slug series.