Chapter One - Arin

“Argh! These fuckers.” Abby groaned as another missile hit the shield and shook our ship.

Atmo Lander was barely holding up. Engines were redlined, shield generators overheated and we were taking heavy fire. We need to get out of this mess fast. I was doing my best to dodge any and all ordinances fired on us, but my best was still not enough.

“Abby, got any luck so far?”

“No, I don’t have enough firepower to take them down. Ion cannons are inoperable cause I don’t have enough energy left from your fancy flying.”

“My fancy flying is keeping us safe.”

“I kno-- damn it, a frigate is coming our way and this bucket won’t be able to handle it.”

“Fuck. Power down all weapon systems except point defense.”

I flipped the comm switch. “Hellhounds, I am cranking up speed. Brace yourselves!”

“If you make me puke Arin, you will be cleaning my suit.”

“No guarantees, buddy.” Vinu groaned as I chuckled and flipped off comms.

For the next few minutes, I was just following my instincts honed by rigorous training. The engines were howling and the frame was rattling. We were still taking hits here and there but with a squadron of Rays behind us. This was good enough.

Soon, we cleared the atmosphere. I sighed in relief as the Rays dropped back. I eased back on thrust. I started a deep scan and flipped the comms.

“Yo, everyone okay?”

“Oi Arin, this idiot stinks like a rat in a pirate ship. Can we throw him out of the airlock?”

“Fuck you, Btor.”

I flipped off comms as they kept bickering.

“Abby, check the scan. I will take us to the mothership in the meantime.”

“On it.”

“Prika, any luck with hacking?”

“I pulled off a copy of a priority report and a mission briefing before they secured their systems. I will decrypt it once we are in the bridge of the mothership.”

“We have a Dreadnaught class ship, most probably a carrier with a support fleet. There is a massive energy spike on the planet. Verifying transponder - it’s Sky. Two gunboats are closing in on our location and dispatching drones. Microfractures in the hull of our lander, shield generator three is out, and the reactor is close to normal temperature. Overall we are fine for now. Get us out of here.”

“Thanks, Abby. Take care of those drones, will ya.”

“Sure”

_________________________

“There she is.” I spotted the mothership hidden in the asteroid belt and flew to the hangar.

Soon we were standing in the bridge looking at the mission debriefing.

Mission : Old Man’s Grave

Date : 20th December, XXXX

Classification : Omega 3

Location :f##@(*&#()[email protected]*ºsdf³³⍃ga Technology Recycling and Disposal Plant, Planet 3, Icarus System.

To be Undertaken By : Taskforce closest to Icarus System.

Primary Mission Priority : Capture Research data and eliminate or capture Old Man.

Secondary Mission Priority : Eliminate or capture Hellhounds.

Threat Level : Charlie

Enemy Combat Capability : Old Man(Custos Maxima, ◄◙f#[email protected](()&$⍖⌛)*(&Q#dfe$⌚) is a highly trained supersoldier, expected to be a [email protected]!₵fd₧₱₳#$yber. Hellhounds - an elite enhanced unit [email protected]*◄◙f#&[email protected] Colossal grade Mech and a Mech transporter are reported to be present.

Atmospheric Conditions and Weather : Non-poisonous, high chance of clouds, and 16 hours of daylight. Temperature does not fall below 20°C and stays around 30°C.

Star : Red Dwarf

Gravity : 1.5 G, Exo recommended.

Forces in the System : Friendly Automated defense system￥៛♳*&%♴☤a☯ expected to be destroyed by enemies. The planet is unoccupied except for drones.

Rules of Engagement : Heavy weapons ☸☨♹^&∊∉∈(*8⊍J⊗⊕*◙f#[email protected](()&$f##@(*&#()[email protected]*ºsdf³³⍃

Recommendation : Be prepared for heavy resistance and try to capture enemies alive.

d◥%d&*^%d◙⤼⤤⤰fd₴)(*[email protected]!₵fd₧₱₳#[email protected]*#&[email protected](￦￥

៛♳♴☤a☯☸☨♹∊(*as∉∈⊍(*⊗⊕*#!s&)*@⌅⌆⍌___________(*^&^dk

⍥⍬)_(*()A&a3⍃⎐asf⍷⍷₄⁻ˢ⎉⌧⎆⎘⎅♖s♞s♝

AIN◄◙f#[email protected](()&df$f##@(*&#()[email protected]

*ºsdf³³⍃⍖⌛)*(&Q#dfe$⌚

“The rest of the briefing is corrupted. That’s all I could pull out of the first data packet.”

“Thanks, Prika. This is enough now for the next data packet. It was a transmission or a report, right?”

“Yeah, it’s a--”

“But they know a lot about us. What do we--”

“Not now, Hannah. First we will take a look at the second report and take care of our gear and ships. We will discuss all of this at the cafeteria later. For now, let’s see the next data packet. Okay?”

Hannah nodded.

“Yeah, it’s a transmission from planetside to the space force. Is it a report, or something else? We’ll find out in a minute.” Prika changed the data on the holoscreen.

Transmission Log 3&^%^#!

Date : 22nd December, XXXX

“This is MSG Balter ◙⤼@⤤*#$, Division &*, Marine Corps. We are at LZ and have secured the perimeter.☨♹∊(*as∉∈⊍(*⊗(*&#()[email protected]*⌛)*(&Q

Over and Out.”

“Roger that Sergeant.”

Time : 4:16 EST

“Balter to command, Old f⍷⍷#₄⁻ˢ%⎉&⌧ hted, Pursuing. Over and Out”

“Roger”

Time : 4:28 EST

“This is Balter. Get Commander on line.”

“Sir you do not have clear^%&*⚉♤^%*╠▊@$%*^◐◣﹩₣₠”

“Get Commander on line, NOW. This is a frigging THETA, not CHARLIE.”

“Ye... Yes, sir.”

“This is Commander Donnst, What the fuck is your problem?”

“ My problem? My problem is that this thing in front of me is not a colossal grade mech. This is a GOD DAMN ∉%∈(*&8⊍J⊗@*#⌛) CLASS JAEGER. You get that? A fucking Jaeger.”

“There are no Jaegers in or around that system. Do not stall, Cong Mech Division will be engaging in T-10 minutes. Support them.”

“Shut it, I will not fucking fight a Jaeger with these power armors and mechs, let alone fight The Skylark with a Pri#&§ sitting in the cockpit. That fucker you call Old Man alone is a tough nut to crack. HE IS A FUCKIN*&(^⬉⧬. With Skylark he is way above my paygrade. We are coming back.”

“WHAT!! It can’t be. Skylark was destroyed in Zeran War which was €₰↼⇛⍖#*&(^⬉⧬⭄@#$**`€§¶. Are you sure you are not on drugs, Sergeant?. Don't abandon the mission, or you will be punished for running from combat.”

“I am not throwing my boys and girls in front of THAT machine. I was there in the last war. I KNOW WHAT THAT MACHINE CAN DO IN HAND^@#$**`€§¶!`IME, I AM COMING BACK. And yeah, I am not on drugs, you are. Balter Out.”

“YOU...

END OF TRANSMISSION

Time: 5:30 EST

“They have someone from Zeran War, shit. Now what?”

“Now Btor, we’ll think about this for a while and gather our thoughts. Then fix up Atmo Lander. Once that's done we discuss this shit in the cafeteria. Sounds good?”

They agreed and walked out of the bridge.