Post by Kavid on Jun 3, 2004 20:51:20 GMT -5
Chapter 9
Gray Horizons
Katrana’s position wasn’t hard to find. The tracking beacon, hidden deep with PAC-4’s body, sent a highly encoded signal that very few hackers inside or outside of the Republican Army could break.
One of them was Sifen.
The signal was strong and clear, coming about three hundred kilometers southeast of the Southernmost Outpost, smack dab in the middle of the Cengari Desert.
The Guylos Empire used to have its own outpost down there, about fifteen years ago. Why they would place an outpost in such a wasteland was beyond anybody in the Republic’s mind. It was eventually just abandoned, but not by order of the Emperor. The guards just stopped checking in one day, and no one bothered to come see why.
The trip down was uneventful. Communication must have been slow. Mt. Hoploy had very few aerial Zoids—they could reveal the secret base too easily. That was why there were so many Command Wolf Patrol Units: security and recon.
Kavid and Sifen managed to get some sleep, but I felt that I had had enough.
Bruno wasn’t really an engineer, just a shipment trucker for the Engineering Department, but he was quite the storyteller—or at least he thought so. He wasn’t very old, but he’d seen his fair share of war. A couple of his tales were intriguing, especially one about some epic battle that started over a spilled shipment of pulif seeds, but I ignored most of his rambling.
When the radar beeped, I saw it as my saving grace.
“Well, I’ll be! Looks like somethin’ is out here after all.” Said Bruno. “I wuz beginin’ ta think you wuz fulla crap, Cap’n!” The snacking driver smiled and wiped poka chips from his mustache.
“Kavid, Sifen, wake up. We may have found Katrana.”
Kavid groaned and rolled over, but Sifen sat up without even a yawn. These guys had been moving for far too long. Sifen switched right into strategy mode, though. “I suggest we leave the Gustav here and investigate with the PAC-Wolves, sir.”
Sifen was always too cautious, but this time, so was I. “Sounds good.”
“I got me a load of them anti-Zoid rifles in the back there, Cap’n. Would ya like to use ‘em?” Suddenly, I liked Bruno a whole lot more.
The blue skies were beautiful, but the wind was leaving its mark. A gray haze formed a ring around the horizon in every direction.
Freshly blown sand crunched under the table-sized feet of our PAC-Wolves, but there was no need for stealth here. It was not possible on the vast open dunes. There was nowhere to hide, either for the attacker or the one under attack.
A single object stood at a tilt on the southern horizon. My Zoid’s database told me that it was an old Guylos Empire pre-fab Outpost Tower. It wasn’t much bigger than the Helic pre-fab tower, but it had the look of the Empire built into it. It was always odd to me just how similar these two warring governments were.
As we drew closer, we came across deeply buried sections of broken fence. The crunching of sand turned into the crunching of metal as our Zoids’ paws stomped across the stripped and abandoned carcasses of Molgas, Rev Raptors and Hel Digunners entombed in the desert sand. Apparently the Empire had no desire to salvage their assets from this waste of an outpost, but someone else did.
I flipped on my HUD-Comm. “Sergeant, any sign of PAC-Wolf 4?”
Sifen’s image appeared. “Negative, Captain. There are no readings of any Zoid life around this outpost.” I cursed to myself. “I am reading small levels of electrical activity inside the tower, however. The beacon signal is also coming from inside the tower.”
“That tower would be a tight fit for a Command Wolf, don’t ya think?” said Kavid. He was right. Maybe it was standing diagonally?
“I recommend proceeding with caution, sir. Old defense systems could still be in active mode.”
I doubted it. “Looters had their way with this place long ago.” I replied. “Let’s get out and have a look inside that tower. Lieutenant Deen, check the opposite side of the structure and start a defensive patrol.” Experience taught me not to ignore Sifen’s advice. “But Kavid, keep a light foot.”
“Roger, Captain.”
I turned off my Comm and lowered PAC-1’s head to the ground. Kavid didn’t call me by name. Either he was still tired or really nervous.
When my Command Wolf’s canopy opened a gust of sandy wind nearly knocked me back into my seat. I picked the anti-Zoid rifle up out of the back of the cockpit, and jumped to the ground.
The Guylos Outpost Pre-Fab Tower wasn’t any wider than the Helic one, but it was a story taller. This one’s surface was scratched by the desert winds, and it leaned at a ten-degree pitch to the northeast. But its holes and broken windows had been repaired, either with metal panels or sloppily hammered wood. Someone was trying to keep the air out.
The front door was barred shut, and I was in no mood to try moving it. I leveled my rifle on my arm, aimed at the bar and fired. The explosion knocked the bar’s halves to the ground. I kicked the door in.
The inside of the tower was quite a surprise. It was obviously being used as a storage and repair shed for a small Zoid. A hydraulic platform laid to the right of the room, with big doors behind it. On the platform were the footprints of a Zoid, probably a Gun Sniper. Parts were scattered about, and a storage shelf for tools and ammunition stood to the left.
But that wasn’t the strangest site.
“Sir,” called Sifen from behind the repair platform, “over here.”
I walked over to him to find him standing next to a small oven, with burnt food and spilled water lying around. There had been a fight here.
But that wasn’t the strangest site, either.
A transmitter was lying on the ground, with its power on full. This had to be the source of the tracking beacon.
But the shock came from next to the transmitter.
Katrana Sared’s dead body was lying next to it. She had been shot.
Gray Horizons
Katrana’s position wasn’t hard to find. The tracking beacon, hidden deep with PAC-4’s body, sent a highly encoded signal that very few hackers inside or outside of the Republican Army could break.
One of them was Sifen.
The signal was strong and clear, coming about three hundred kilometers southeast of the Southernmost Outpost, smack dab in the middle of the Cengari Desert.
The Guylos Empire used to have its own outpost down there, about fifteen years ago. Why they would place an outpost in such a wasteland was beyond anybody in the Republic’s mind. It was eventually just abandoned, but not by order of the Emperor. The guards just stopped checking in one day, and no one bothered to come see why.
The trip down was uneventful. Communication must have been slow. Mt. Hoploy had very few aerial Zoids—they could reveal the secret base too easily. That was why there were so many Command Wolf Patrol Units: security and recon.
Kavid and Sifen managed to get some sleep, but I felt that I had had enough.
Bruno wasn’t really an engineer, just a shipment trucker for the Engineering Department, but he was quite the storyteller—or at least he thought so. He wasn’t very old, but he’d seen his fair share of war. A couple of his tales were intriguing, especially one about some epic battle that started over a spilled shipment of pulif seeds, but I ignored most of his rambling.
When the radar beeped, I saw it as my saving grace.
“Well, I’ll be! Looks like somethin’ is out here after all.” Said Bruno. “I wuz beginin’ ta think you wuz fulla crap, Cap’n!” The snacking driver smiled and wiped poka chips from his mustache.
“Kavid, Sifen, wake up. We may have found Katrana.”
Kavid groaned and rolled over, but Sifen sat up without even a yawn. These guys had been moving for far too long. Sifen switched right into strategy mode, though. “I suggest we leave the Gustav here and investigate with the PAC-Wolves, sir.”
Sifen was always too cautious, but this time, so was I. “Sounds good.”
“I got me a load of them anti-Zoid rifles in the back there, Cap’n. Would ya like to use ‘em?” Suddenly, I liked Bruno a whole lot more.
The blue skies were beautiful, but the wind was leaving its mark. A gray haze formed a ring around the horizon in every direction.
Freshly blown sand crunched under the table-sized feet of our PAC-Wolves, but there was no need for stealth here. It was not possible on the vast open dunes. There was nowhere to hide, either for the attacker or the one under attack.
A single object stood at a tilt on the southern horizon. My Zoid’s database told me that it was an old Guylos Empire pre-fab Outpost Tower. It wasn’t much bigger than the Helic pre-fab tower, but it had the look of the Empire built into it. It was always odd to me just how similar these two warring governments were.
As we drew closer, we came across deeply buried sections of broken fence. The crunching of sand turned into the crunching of metal as our Zoids’ paws stomped across the stripped and abandoned carcasses of Molgas, Rev Raptors and Hel Digunners entombed in the desert sand. Apparently the Empire had no desire to salvage their assets from this waste of an outpost, but someone else did.
I flipped on my HUD-Comm. “Sergeant, any sign of PAC-Wolf 4?”
Sifen’s image appeared. “Negative, Captain. There are no readings of any Zoid life around this outpost.” I cursed to myself. “I am reading small levels of electrical activity inside the tower, however. The beacon signal is also coming from inside the tower.”
“That tower would be a tight fit for a Command Wolf, don’t ya think?” said Kavid. He was right. Maybe it was standing diagonally?
“I recommend proceeding with caution, sir. Old defense systems could still be in active mode.”
I doubted it. “Looters had their way with this place long ago.” I replied. “Let’s get out and have a look inside that tower. Lieutenant Deen, check the opposite side of the structure and start a defensive patrol.” Experience taught me not to ignore Sifen’s advice. “But Kavid, keep a light foot.”
“Roger, Captain.”
I turned off my Comm and lowered PAC-1’s head to the ground. Kavid didn’t call me by name. Either he was still tired or really nervous.
When my Command Wolf’s canopy opened a gust of sandy wind nearly knocked me back into my seat. I picked the anti-Zoid rifle up out of the back of the cockpit, and jumped to the ground.
The Guylos Outpost Pre-Fab Tower wasn’t any wider than the Helic one, but it was a story taller. This one’s surface was scratched by the desert winds, and it leaned at a ten-degree pitch to the northeast. But its holes and broken windows had been repaired, either with metal panels or sloppily hammered wood. Someone was trying to keep the air out.
The front door was barred shut, and I was in no mood to try moving it. I leveled my rifle on my arm, aimed at the bar and fired. The explosion knocked the bar’s halves to the ground. I kicked the door in.
The inside of the tower was quite a surprise. It was obviously being used as a storage and repair shed for a small Zoid. A hydraulic platform laid to the right of the room, with big doors behind it. On the platform were the footprints of a Zoid, probably a Gun Sniper. Parts were scattered about, and a storage shelf for tools and ammunition stood to the left.
But that wasn’t the strangest site.
“Sir,” called Sifen from behind the repair platform, “over here.”
I walked over to him to find him standing next to a small oven, with burnt food and spilled water lying around. There had been a fight here.
But that wasn’t the strangest site, either.
A transmitter was lying on the ground, with its power on full. This had to be the source of the tracking beacon.
But the shock came from next to the transmitter.
Katrana Sared’s dead body was lying next to it. She had been shot.