Post by adamassc on Apr 15, 2007 0:36:47 GMT -5
It was just another day.
T. Scott Lewod had been stationed at the outpost for five years. It was a small tower, built in the desert as an early warning system for the Helic republic. There were a few others scattered throughout the Elmeria desert, and all were set up the same way. There were two people at each outpost, one zoid pilot and one operator. Scott was the pilot for Outpost #76. The operator was a woman named Annibel. Scott loved her deeply, and always had since they were children. He once dreamed of making her his bride, and living peacefully with his beloved wife.
Those dreams fell apart at thirteen, when her parents were killed. Annibel was going to be sent away, and Scott was afraid of losing his love. His parents knew that Scott cared for Annibel, so they made a choice, and adopted her as their daughter. She was so happy that she was part of Scott's family now, and Scott smiled. He smiled while his heart was being torn apart piece by piece. Scott got his wish, to always have Annibel at his side, but it was a twisted version of his wish.
Scott woke up when his alarm went off. He always got up at 5am, so he could check over his zoid. Since the outpost wasn't meant to serve as a major defensive point, Scott's Command Wolf LC was the only weapon there. He fixed the coffee and ate a quick breakfast, preparing for his day. All he had to do was trot about the perimeter for eight hours, telling Annibel that all was quiet. Everyday was just like that, save their weekly ration delivery. He enjoyed the silence mostly, though he wished the scenery was a little better. Endless desert was far from thrilling, but it's what they had.
It took him a couple of hours to run his Command Wolf LC, which he named 'Ellie,' and to get the bay open. In that time, Annibel had gotten up and taken her station. She clicked on the radio, yawning before she spoke. “Hey Scott. Thanks for the coffee. Are you and Ellie ready for another great day?”
“Yeah, just thrilled Annibel.” Scott could never understand how she managed to be so blasted cheerful first thing in the morning like that. “Have the other outposts given their morning reports yet?”
“Only fifty, seems everyone else is still asleep.” Annibel stretched, then ran diagnostics over all of her equipment. “Geez, looks like the other guys don't even have their beacons up. Definitely gonna catch some heck for that.”
“No doubt. I guess they didn't want their beauty sleep interrupted by an attack warning.” He laughed to himself, thinking about his less than honorable friends scattered about the desert. Scott moved Ellie out of the hangar and stretched her legs out. “Whats the report from Fifty?”
Annibel shrugged to herself. “Same as always, beautiful beaches with no hints of trouble.” Annibel sighed. “I don't need the ocean, but some kind of water would be nice to see. All this sand is boring.”
Scott took a couple of quick jogs around the small building before moving out to the outer area. “I here ya, Annibel. Maybe we should ask the Empire to only attack from the shoreline from now on!”
Annibel giggled. “Yeah, I'm sure they're in the mood for requests.” She checked her screen again, hoping at least one of the other stations had reported, then looked confused at the screen. “Hey Scott, it looks like some of the other posts have lost their beacon signals. I wonder if there's some kind of power shortage.”
“We'd have gotten a report if there was an outage. Something must have knocked out the signals. Contact Fifty, see if they know anything. Scott kept near the base, waiting for Annibel's report.
“Roger. Shouldn't take too long.” Annibel hailed the other tower, hoping to get a good signal. Instead, she just got a broken message. “Scott, I think you should hear this.” Annibel's voice tone had changed. Something was wrong. Scott quickly returned Ellie to the bay, and hurried to Annibel's station. “Check this out, Scott. I think we have big trouble heading our way.”
The message she played was broken, but plenty clear. It simply said 'Death Stinger.'
Scott stared hard at the speaker, like his eyes could force it to tell more of what had happened. He knew the name from a report he had read. It was an Imperial super weapon, and the Republic had destroyed them before, but they had used a lot more firepower than any of the outposts had. “Annibel, can you send a signal to the Capital?”
“Sure, if I boost the signal to its max, they should be able to receive it. Why, what are you going to do?” Annibel was terrified that she already knew the answer.
“I'm going to keep a promise I made to you. Now get that message out to the capital. If they know its coming, that Stinger doesn't have a chance.” Scott shut the door before Annibel could protest. She knew of just which promise he meant, and it made her sad.
In a matter of moments, the Command Wolf LC was back outside, running towards the Death Stinger's direction. Scott stopped once the behemoth was within radar range. Scott opened a channel to Annibel. “Hey Annie, you got that signal out?”
She sniffled a bit. “...Yeah, I got it to them. They said they would have a force mobilized In a few minutes. They won't be here in time to stop that thing.”
“It wont matter. I'll slow it down.” Scott's voice was flat. He knew his odds, and had accepted them. “Hey Annie, ...My first name is Tim.”
“That's a nice name.” Annibel was crying now, she knew that he was saying goodbye to her. “Hey, Tim, I l-love you. The same way you do me. I wish I could have been more than just your sister sometimes.”
Scott smiled, thinking of Annibel, and charged against the Death Stinger, firing on it with his Long-Range Rifle.
Within a few hours, the Helic's main force had met the Death Stinger head-on and destroyed it. It fell easily, with its main cannon damaged. The easy victory caused the Republic to celebrate, Their moral as high as its ever been. The whole of the Republic cheered.
One young girl cried. Her tears fell on the battered remains of a Command Wolf, whose head had been crushed by the monster it battled. Nothing was left but a broken body, and a memory of love.
thirteen years ago, a boy told a girl “I promise that no matter what, I will protect you. Even if it means death.” The girl smiled and kissed the boy. He made that promise all the time.
It was just another day.
T. Scott Lewod had been stationed at the outpost for five years. It was a small tower, built in the desert as an early warning system for the Helic republic. There were a few others scattered throughout the Elmeria desert, and all were set up the same way. There were two people at each outpost, one zoid pilot and one operator. Scott was the pilot for Outpost #76. The operator was a woman named Annibel. Scott loved her deeply, and always had since they were children. He once dreamed of making her his bride, and living peacefully with his beloved wife.
Those dreams fell apart at thirteen, when her parents were killed. Annibel was going to be sent away, and Scott was afraid of losing his love. His parents knew that Scott cared for Annibel, so they made a choice, and adopted her as their daughter. She was so happy that she was part of Scott's family now, and Scott smiled. He smiled while his heart was being torn apart piece by piece. Scott got his wish, to always have Annibel at his side, but it was a twisted version of his wish.
Scott woke up when his alarm went off. He always got up at 5am, so he could check over his zoid. Since the outpost wasn't meant to serve as a major defensive point, Scott's Command Wolf LC was the only weapon there. He fixed the coffee and ate a quick breakfast, preparing for his day. All he had to do was trot about the perimeter for eight hours, telling Annibel that all was quiet. Everyday was just like that, save their weekly ration delivery. He enjoyed the silence mostly, though he wished the scenery was a little better. Endless desert was far from thrilling, but it's what they had.
It took him a couple of hours to run his Command Wolf LC, which he named 'Ellie,' and to get the bay open. In that time, Annibel had gotten up and taken her station. She clicked on the radio, yawning before she spoke. “Hey Scott. Thanks for the coffee. Are you and Ellie ready for another great day?”
“Yeah, just thrilled Annibel.” Scott could never understand how she managed to be so blasted cheerful first thing in the morning like that. “Have the other outposts given their morning reports yet?”
“Only fifty, seems everyone else is still asleep.” Annibel stretched, then ran diagnostics over all of her equipment. “Geez, looks like the other guys don't even have their beacons up. Definitely gonna catch some heck for that.”
“No doubt. I guess they didn't want their beauty sleep interrupted by an attack warning.” He laughed to himself, thinking about his less than honorable friends scattered about the desert. Scott moved Ellie out of the hangar and stretched her legs out. “Whats the report from Fifty?”
Annibel shrugged to herself. “Same as always, beautiful beaches with no hints of trouble.” Annibel sighed. “I don't need the ocean, but some kind of water would be nice to see. All this sand is boring.”
Scott took a couple of quick jogs around the small building before moving out to the outer area. “I here ya, Annibel. Maybe we should ask the Empire to only attack from the shoreline from now on!”
Annibel giggled. “Yeah, I'm sure they're in the mood for requests.” She checked her screen again, hoping at least one of the other stations had reported, then looked confused at the screen. “Hey Scott, it looks like some of the other posts have lost their beacon signals. I wonder if there's some kind of power shortage.”
“We'd have gotten a report if there was an outage. Something must have knocked out the signals. Contact Fifty, see if they know anything. Scott kept near the base, waiting for Annibel's report.
“Roger. Shouldn't take too long.” Annibel hailed the other tower, hoping to get a good signal. Instead, she just got a broken message. “Scott, I think you should hear this.” Annibel's voice tone had changed. Something was wrong. Scott quickly returned Ellie to the bay, and hurried to Annibel's station. “Check this out, Scott. I think we have big trouble heading our way.”
The message she played was broken, but plenty clear. It simply said 'Death Stinger.'
Scott stared hard at the speaker, like his eyes could force it to tell more of what had happened. He knew the name from a report he had read. It was an Imperial super weapon, and the Republic had destroyed them before, but they had used a lot more firepower than any of the outposts had. “Annibel, can you send a signal to the Capital?”
“Sure, if I boost the signal to its max, they should be able to receive it. Why, what are you going to do?” Annibel was terrified that she already knew the answer.
“I'm going to keep a promise I made to you. Now get that message out to the capital. If they know its coming, that Stinger doesn't have a chance.” Scott shut the door before Annibel could protest. She knew of just which promise he meant, and it made her sad.
In a matter of moments, the Command Wolf LC was back outside, running towards the Death Stinger's direction. Scott stopped once the behemoth was within radar range. Scott opened a channel to Annibel. “Hey Annie, you got that signal out?”
She sniffled a bit. “...Yeah, I got it to them. They said they would have a force mobilized In a few minutes. They won't be here in time to stop that thing.”
“It wont matter. I'll slow it down.” Scott's voice was flat. He knew his odds, and had accepted them. “Hey Annie, ...My first name is Tim.”
“That's a nice name.” Annibel was crying now, she knew that he was saying goodbye to her. “Hey, Tim, I l-love you. The same way you do me. I wish I could have been more than just your sister sometimes.”
Scott smiled, thinking of Annibel, and charged against the Death Stinger, firing on it with his Long-Range Rifle.
Within a few hours, the Helic's main force had met the Death Stinger head-on and destroyed it. It fell easily, with its main cannon damaged. The easy victory caused the Republic to celebrate, Their moral as high as its ever been. The whole of the Republic cheered.
One young girl cried. Her tears fell on the battered remains of a Command Wolf, whose head had been crushed by the monster it battled. Nothing was left but a broken body, and a memory of love.
thirteen years ago, a boy told a girl “I promise that no matter what, I will protect you. Even if it means death.” The girl smiled and kissed the boy. He made that promise all the time.
It was just another day.
