All Anime World

Chapter 28, time is getting nearer for the real action, but we still are finding out about our main characters. There are a few subplots running around in the story now.

Chapter 28

Georgianna headed toward the cafeteria, she had to find her group and tell them to be
ready in twelve hours. She thought today would be a good day, but now, these haunting
memories were eating at her. She couldn’t forget the bodies...... the faces, especially her parents.
Georgianna almost ran into Arisa, who was headed for the cafeteria too. Georgianna frowned at
her lieutenant. “I told you to stay away from Chad, He’s a gang member, he’s nothing but
trouble, you’ll end up getting hurt.”
Arisa stood and looked defiantly up at the taller woman. “You may be my captain, but
that doesn’t mean you have the right to tell me which pilots I can associate with. Besides, you
don’t know anything about him. I don’t know what gangs ever did to you, but you can’t shove all
gang members into the same stereotype. Gang members aren’t all alike,” Arisa spun and stalked
away, “and neither are little rich girls. You don’t know where I come from.”
Georgianna shook her head, damn, the girl was right. She was letting her bad mood
control her mouth, it was a bad habit. She followed Arisa, maybe she should try to smooth things
out a bit, they did have to work together.

Chad finished his food and looked at the others around the table. He wondered what
brought them to the military. Arisa said each of them must have some story. “Ah, Ben,” Chad
asked, “I was just wondering what got people to join the military. Why are you here?”
Ben turned away from Megumi to look at Chad. “Well, mining isn’t such a bad life, my
family’s made good money at it, but you don’t get to see much more than the inside of the
asteroids. Most my folk never got outside our home system, and there isn’t much to see there. I
wanted to get away for a while, and see other places. I saw the recruiting ads for the EDF and,
since I could pilot the mining mechs pretty well, I signed on to be a pilot.” He looked back at
Megumi, “What got you into the EDF?”
Megumi thought for a minute, “My family, actually. We have a martial arts dojo, a
school, and when my father retires, it will be passed down to my eldest brother. I learned all the
fighting techniques, the same as my brothers, but women aren’t allowed to become trainers, like
my brothers. The EDF often comes to our dojo for training and recruiting, I thought I could
become a military trainer so I joined the EDF, but they said I had ability as a pilot and sent me to
the academy, so here I am.” She smiled at Chad, “So, how did you end up a pilot? I heard you’re
from lower Detroit, that seems strange, you don’t see many grounders that make pilots.”
Chad fussed with his empty dishes. “I kind of got in some trouble and, well, the judge
gave me a choice, ten years in a penal colony, or ten years in the military. Wasn’t much
difference between the two, ‘cept the military pays you. I need the money, cause I’m never going
back there. I was one of the ground pounders, till a general saw me messing with a mech, he sent
me to the academy. I’m not so sure he did me any favor.”
“Hey, it’s gotta be better, being a pilot,” Ben claimed, “we’ve got better food, and more
of it.”
“You’ve got a point there,” Chad grinned at Ben, “You’d never survive in the ground
forces.”
Rose watched the two young men. She hoped they would keep arguing the merits of the
pilots verses the ground soldier. She hoped they wouldn’t ask her why she’d joined the EDF.

John sat down at the table where Louis and Geofry were telling battle stories to the
rookie, Kaze. He looked over at Megumi, darn, she had to go and sit by that big guy again. What
did she see in that big oaf? Ah well, she wasn’t really his type anyway, a bit to small........ now
that girl, Rose, she was quite the looker. He could get close to a girl like that, but, she’d, very
sweetly, let him know that she was not interested at all. He sighed, For all his reputation as a
lady’s man, John didn’t really have that much luck with women. They often seemed interested in
him, for a while, but then........... There were two women that had meant something to him. The
one, well, there was no way he would ever get back there again, the other, he sighed again, he
couldn’t blame her for hating him. He watched her walk in the room, ya.......... if only............
He’d really messed that up.

Georgianna saw John watching her as she went up to the food dispensers. She wondered
what had happened, he wasn’t sitting with one of the other girls. He always had some other
girl..... Georgianna sighed, she shouldn’t feel so harsh toward him. John couldn’t help it, he was
a girl magnet. Tall, handsome, most women were attracted to him. As she sat down across from
Arisa, she thought back to when she’d met John. It was at the academy, they were in the same
classes. John was the oldest in their class, seems he’d been with NASA before joining the EDF.
She’d been attracted to him, like so many others. He was brilliant, and fun to be with, and a very
good dancer. When they were out drinking, his stories got to be really out of this world. But,
Georgianna could tell, there was something he was trying to hide, or forget. Something that
seemed to hurt him. They’d parted after the academy, till the Tarsonis incident. She’d been a
wreck after that nightmare, but somehow their paths had come together, and John had been the
one to hold the pieces together and keep her sane. The EDF gave her a promotion, to captain.
They said it was for her skills at Tarsonis, she knew it was just a bribe to keep her mouth shut.
That’s when she’d messed things up. Georgianna tried to use her new rank to control John, to
possess him. She should have known better, John had always been a bit of a womanizer, she
could never hope to make him something that he wasn’t. She just wanted to be more to him than
the dozens of women he’d had. She knew, it was her fault, she’d pushed him away by trying to
use her rank to control him. She looked up at Arisa, and now, she was making the same mistake
with her new command.
Georgianna smiled, “I guess you’re right, Arisa, I shouldn’t be telling you who you can
talk with. I’m just being kind of bitchy, bad time of month. You know?”
Arisa looked up, and slowly smiled, “sure, I know what you mean. If you knew my
family, you wouldn’t be so worried about me. I’m not as naive as you’d think.. I’ve handled a
few boys before. Rich boys think they can have anything they want.”
“I’ll bet,” Georgianna laughed, “just be careful, boys from the lower cities may not have
the moral brakes that your people have.”
Arisa’s grin was a bit evil, “I wouldn’t be so sure of our superior morals, captain.”

Meanwhile back on earth......... the plot thickens. Maybe Georgianna doesn't want to know what Arisa's family is like.


Chapter 29

On his way home, General Parker stopped at an off sale shop, he was going to need a
bottle of Brandy, this had been a bad day. As he walked up to the store, a long limousine pulled
up in front of him, a large young man in a dark suit and sun glasses got out of the front door.
Another young man, who could have been the first one’s twin, got out of the rear door and held it
open.
“Please get into the car, sir,” the first man told the general.
George Parker was no fool, these two were obviously somebody’s hired muscle, not much
use in resisting. He started to get in the back, then hesitated. The man sitting in the forward jump
seat looked like he’d been in a tough fight, and lost.
“Hello George,” said a voice from the back seat, “I brought you a present.”
The general looked at the rear seat, there was a familiar face, Ian Higgins, the military’s
largest supplier, and an old acquaintance. George got in and sat on the rear seat, opposite Ian.
“Ian, this is a surprise,” He said, “You haven’t been to earth in years.” He motioned toward the
other man, "I take it this is the present........ What’s up with this? He looks like he’s been in a
wreck.”
Ian’s grin was evil, “Just a small time competitor, Damien Ashford, who thought his plot
could steal my business holdings. I was dealing with it, when he happened to mention
something that might interest you. He said one of your ships was going to be destroyed, that his
son is on that ship, the Krikav, I believe it is to be sent on a mission to Sar Mara. He wanted me
to get his son off that ship before it leaves. Apparently there is a plot to start a war, and blame the
EDF. We coaxed some information from him,” Ian handed George a data key, “but he seems to
only have a few names. I thought perhaps your boys would want to see what they can get from
him.”
“Sure,” George answered, “they’ll be more than happy to have a go at him. We’ve been
trying to get a trace on this conspiracy for a couple years, ever since the Tarsonis affair. We just haven’t
been able to get a break. This may be just what we need.”
“George, I’ve never been one to ask for favors,” Ian said quietly, “But I’d like you to
recall the Krikav, abort the mission. Not for Kirk,..... that bastard’s son........ but, my daughter is
on that ship.”
General Parker looked surprised. Damn, he thought, he’d looked over the personnel files,
he seen the name, Higgins, it just hadn’t registered. He looked down, “I’m sorry Ian, I can’t. We
lost communication with the Krikav just after they went into warp. We lost communication with
another ship that was at Sar Mara too. I’m getting a task force together, I’m going to go there
myself, I don’t want a repeat of Tarsonis. There might be a chance.......”
Ian looked out the window, “Damn girl, I didn’t want her to join the EDF, especially
going to the pilot academy. I knew she’d get into a bad situation, but she’s so headstrong, just
like her mother.”
George smiled, “Then you really do have your hands full. I’ll bring her back, if I can, Ian”

The two young men moved the handcuffed Damien into the rear seat of general Parker’s car, and
he watched the Limo pull smoothly away. George put the memory key in his pocket and headed
his car back to his office, this could be just the break they needed..

I'm working on the next chapter........ really. I'm just old and slow.

Man, you really have us hanging. I can't wait for the Krikav to come out of their incredibly long warp trip.

I know it seems like such a long trip, but, time dilation and all that stuff, it's only about two days for them. I'll get there, soon, I promise.

This is a longer chapter, it took a while to get it down. this one moves through several scenes, setting things up a bit more. I hope the characters are turning out alright. I find it difficult to keep things in order, I've been trying to follow the outline of the original RPG, changing things to try to make a more interesting story. Next Chapter, I promis more action.

Chapter 30


Aiden sat down across from the colonel, “this really has you bugged, Dan, is that
information you have reliable?”
Dan sighed, “yes, it came from general Parker.”
“Ok, that’s reliable enough,” Aiden replied. “But why? Why would the empire set us up
for a repeat of Tarsonis?”
“I wish I knew,” Dan snapped. “This whole mission has been a set up. Even the personnel
roster was tampered with. Someone was trying to guarantee our failure, either that, or trying to
get rid of a few bad seeds. Crichton, Ross, Torres, McFarlaine, they all have problem records.
We also have an overload of rookies for a, possibly hazardous, mission.” Dan called up the
message he’d received, then turned the monitor for Aiden to read. “Just look at this.”
Aiden spent a moment scanning through the message.
“I need your input, Aiden,” Dan told his friend, “You were always better at tactical plans
than I was.” Dan waved his hand in front of him, “don’t try to say it isn’t true, you know it is.
This command could just as easily be yours. Right now though, I need your thoughts on this. A
couple hours ago, I received a message, orders to change the point that we drop out of warp. I
don’t know why they would have done that, we won’t be anywhere near the subspace com
satellite. Should I follow orders, or stick to the original jump point and come out at the satellite?”
Aiden scratched at the stubble on his chin, “Strange, they know changing a warp point en
route is tricky. It must be something important to cause them to send that order. Maybe they think
there will be an ambush waiting at the com satellite.”
“Ya, I thought of that,” Dan admitted, “but something just doesn’t feel right to me.”
“Well, if you’re looking for my ideas, I’d go to the new break out point, and come out on
full combat alert. If something is waiting there, you’ll be ready for it.” Aiden told his friend.
Dan sighed, “That’s about what I had in mind. I don’t want to be caught off guard. I don’t
want to be like the first ship into Tarsonis.” Dan got up and turned to look at the star chart on the
wall. “Aiden, I’ve decided to send Blue Dragon out first, let Ross see what he can find with that
recon mech. I want to put Red Phoenix on deck, and keep your group in reserve, if we fall in the
sh**, I need you to pull us out.”
Aiden stiffened, he was sure the colonel knew about his black outs. He didn’t want to
believe that was why Dan had put his group last, but he couldn’t help the feeling. “That sounds
like a good plan, is that old mech really that good?”
“I don’t know. If it’s as good as Greg told me, we have a nice advantage.” Dan admitted.
“I just worry about the pilot. Ross has a bad record, and he was a gang member, I just don’t know
if he’ll be a team player.” Dan spun around, “Damn, half my command is rookies or screw ups,
Aiden.”
Aiden smiled, “Ya, but those screw ups all are excellent fighters, and you have a couple
rookies who have great martial arts skills, one who was top of her class, one that’s the best shot
with a rail gun they’ve ever graduated. As for Ross, just remember, gang members are fiercely
loyal to their gang. If he feels like he belongs in your command, you won’t have a problem.”
Dan finally smiled, “I hope you’re right, Aiden, I really do.”


Dominic sat down at the table, “guys, we have to be ready for action in less than 12 hours.
Looks like this could be a bit more than just fixing the com satellite. The colonel thinks it could
be like the Tarsonis incident.”
When Dom mentioned Tarsonis, almost everyone in the room turned and looked at him.
Rose looked at him with wide eyes. “Weren’t the first two ships sent there destroyed?” She
asked.
“Ya, they were, that’s why we have to be ready.” Dom answered.

General Parker looked at the papers Tom brought him, “Interesting, so Ashford is talking
his head off. He must be really scared.”
Tom looked up from his laptop, true, all I had to do was threaten to send him back to
Higgins. The trouble is, the names he knows are only small fry. We have men watching, if they
contact anyone, we might get a break.”
“Still no word from the Krikav?” General Parker asked.
“No, and not a lead on that stolen mech either.” Tom looked back down, “I’m trying to
see if it could have been an industrial theft. Maybe BAE-MIG is trying to steal some high tech to
get a leg up on Higgens’ Lockheed-Saab mechs. I hope it’s something like that.”
“Doesn’t sound likely,” the general told him. “And, it’s going to be a few days till I can
get a battle group together, if I can get by the opposition. Some people are worried about another
Tarsonis.”

In a large room left over from the mining under a mountain on Sar Mara, Edward
Geraldine talked with a subordinate on the com. “They diverted the ship to your co-ordinates.
They haven’t had any word of the ship being disabled yet, so be ready to attack............... You
have twice the number of mechs they have, and they won’t be expecting you, it should be no
problem. ............................. Alright, that sounds good, that should disable the ship. Just make
sure to bring me their mechs.”

Tod sat in his favorite bar in Victorville, California. He really felt bummed, the mech that
had been his top secret project was gone, stolen. Not only that, but it had been a bust, a very
expensive way to drive pilots insane. He looked up at Jack, the tech who had helped him modify
the old mech. “It’s just not fair, my project is gone, and now they even suspect me. Like, maybe I
sold it to some corporation. There were investigators checking my bank accounts today.”
Jack almost laughed, he’d been listening to his friend through several beers. Tod had been
getting more and more upset. He decided to let his friend off the hook.“Well, you don’t have to
worry about that, Tod, I found your little lost mech. They won’t be blaming you.”
Tod choked on his beer and coughed. After several seconds he gasped out, “what? They
didn’t tell me that? Where is it?”
“They must not know yet,” Jack answered. “It got assigned to a pilot on the Krikav.”
Tom got up, “I have to contact the Krikav, he has to be warned, he can’t be allowed to
pilot that mech.”
“To late,” Jack told him, “he’s already had it out. They had a training run and he found
your special systems.”
Tod sat down and put his head in his hands, “Oh lord, another one, how bad is he.”
Jack laughed, “Seems the pilot, lieutenant Chad Ross, said that it was scary as hell at first,
but you get use to it.”
Tod jerked upright, “What!! He’s alright? He isn’t catatonic?”
Jack sat back smiling, “Guess not, later, Ross went out to practice with the thing, and fell
asleep with the cloaking turned on. Greg told me they thought they’d lost him, till he woke up.”
Tod stared at Jack, “You’re kidding me, right? That’s didn’t happen........... It did, damn! I
have to talk to that pilot. We have to get that mech back, get that pilot. I have to know how he did
it. We’ve got to get him transferred here, right away.”
“To late for that.” Jack shook his head. “The Krikav warped out on a mission yesterday.”
“I have to get them recalled. I need to talk to the pilot. This could be a big breakthrough.”
Tod was getting excited.
“Ease up a bit, Tod.” Jack told his friend. “You’d have to get the general that sent the
mission to recall it. And that isn’t easy. Anyway, Greg said it’s just a mission to fix a com
satellite. You could have a chat with that pilot, come over to my office tomorrow afternoon.”

Georgianna couldn’t sleep, the horrors she’d seen at Tarsonis kept replaying in her mind.
There was no way she could allow this to turn out the same. There had to be some way to prevent
that, starting with keeping the Krikav from being destroyed.
Chad lay on his back. Rose wasn’t right, Arisa wasn’t even his type....... was she? Girls
were always just mean to him. But, Chad was a young man, and memory of a cute smile and
pretty blue eyes wouldn’t let him fall asleep.
Arisa wrapped herself around her pillow, what if there was a fight, would she be able to
do what she had to with her mech? Was she ready for this? Her mind wandered to a tall
handsome young man. The captain was wrong about him, she was sure of that.
Most of the pilots didn’t get much sleep, The thought of the loss of two ships at Tarsonis
weighed on their minds.

Ok, we're starting to move into the action. At least they finally arrive at the Sar Mara system. I stayed up way to lat writing this, and tomorrow I leave for Anime Detour. I'll get back into it when I get home again. So for now, enjoy .

 Chapter 31


Chad thought he would be the first pilot to the hangar, he was wrong. Megumi and Arisa
were both there, in front of Megumi’s Thunderbird. Chad looked at the two girls and smiled as he
walked by. He turned a bit red when Arisa smiled back. Chad wasn’t watching where he was
going and was almost knocked down when he ran into someone. Georgianna had been looking at
her mech when she stepped back into Chad’s path. Georgianna turned and shoved Chad, he
stumbled backward a few steps.
“Ross! Damn it, watch where your going,” she snapped. “If you don’t even have the
brains to walk, how can they let you pilot a mech? With you around, enemies are the least of our
worries.” She turned and stalked away. “If you come near me out there, I’ll make sure I shoot
first.”
John watched the encounter from the door. He entered the hangar and walked up to
Georgianna. “You need to ease up a bit sweetheart, You don’t need to bite the guy. You did step
into his path, you know.”
“Shut up Crichton,” Georgianna bit back at him, “this has nothing to do with you.”
John frowned, “yes it does, it’s going to mess up your judgment, that endangers everyone.
Look, I know that comparing this to Tarsonis is messing with your mind, but this isn’t Tarsonis.”
“It is, John, it’s starting out just the same.”
“You don’t know that,” John tried to settle her down.
“But it is,” Georgianna answered, “the protests by the planet government, the subspace
com going out.......... they’ll send in a battle group and kill them all, just like Tarsonis, and they
won’t find any weapons. It’ll be a massacre, just like Tarsonis.”
“Maybe Tarsonis didn’t have weapons, but, they did destroy two EDF ships. How did
they do that?” John looked her in the eye. “We’re the first ship in this time. If you want to change
things, don’t let them wreck the Krikav.” John smiled and walked off to his mech.
Georgianna sighed. John was right, she’d let old memories get to her. She hadn’t been
able to sleep at all. She was letting the past cloud her judgment.”

The pilots all got ready to launch, Dominic gathered his group on the launch ramp. He
was excited, ready to take his group out as soon as they dropped out of warp. “Alright Blue
Dragon, as soon as we drop out of warp, we launch, in order, follow me.”
“Dom, I’m changing that.” Colonel Hellwind called over the com. “I want blue four to
launch first, the rest of you will follow on my order. The ship’s normal space sensors won’t be up
and operating for between fifteen and thirty second after we come out of warp. I want Ross to
launch with his mechs sensors ready. Lieutenant Ross, you’re our eyes and ears, we can’t have a
delay, we need to know what’s out there.”
“Yes sir.” Chad answered, smiling. So, they did need him, and his old mech.

Chad felt as if he were floating high off the floor as he felt the odd sensation of the ship
dropping out of warp drive. Immediately Chad was launched, he gasped and gripped the seat
arms for a second. It really looked like you were being thrown out an airlock. He gathered his
wits and began to cycle through sensors, trying to turn to look in all directions.”
“Ross, what’s out there? What do you see?” The colonel’s voice was anxious.
“Rocks, sir,” Chad called back, “lots of rocks, we’re in an asteroid belt.”
The hair on the back of colonel Hellwind’s neck stood on end. “Blue Dragon, weapons
hot, keep on your toes, launch...... Red Phoenix, on deck. Yuki, what’s the status on the sensors?”
“The sensors are down, sir,” Yuki answered, “There is a malfunction in the system. I have
summoned a tech.”

Arisa rechecked all the switches, everything was on, the main board showed all green, but
Kion wouldn’t move. Frustrated she pounded on the main console. “Kion to Spirit, captain I have
a problem, I can’t move.” Arisa called and a tech was quickly there opening the armored panels,
plugging in test gear.

Dan’s fists balled tightly, asteroids, the ship’s sensors, now one of his Lancers was down.
What else could go wrong.
“There’s another ship here.” Chad’s voice was strained.
“What ship? What type is it? “ Dan almost yelled.
“White Magic, like the Krikav......... about three K almost dead ahead of the Krikav.........
but something’s wrong it looks....... Oh sh**!”
“What is it Ross, what’s wrong?” The colonel felt like the universe was closing in on
him.
“It’s been hit, the port side is wrecked,” Chad came back. “There’s no indication of
power output. It looks dead.”
Dan shook his head, damn, damn, damn......... It was Tarsonis all over again, and they
were the second ship. He couldn’t let that happen to his command. “Red Phoenix, launch.....
Green Giant, on deck. Blue Dragon, search for survivors. Watch out for ambushes or traps. Blue
four will have to stay outside, we need those sensors.”
Blue Dragon group moved over to the derelict ship. “Colonel, it’s the Ticonderoga.
Bullseye, you stay outside with Chad. Your Lancer wouldn’t be much good in the corridors
anyway. Keep a sharp eye out.” Dominic ordered as he and Rose moved in through a gaping hole
where the hangar use to be.
The colonel felt his knees get weak, that was Johanna’s ship.

Chad tried to keep shifting through the many sensors, all the while turning to search in all
directions. Chad muttered, “I wish there were some way to just sweep through the sensors, I need
more hands to keep up with all this. How did they expect a guy to keep up with all this and fly
the mech?”
“Sensor sweep completed,” a voice came from his com, “no hostiles detected, two life
pods detected, locations marked on display.”
“Ok, thanks........ huh?” Chad looked around, “who is that?”
“DFX-04,” the voice answered.
“What? Who?........... Where are you?” Chad asked, confused.
“I am mobile suit DFX-04 assigned to pilot Lieutenant Chad Ross, currently outside the
wreckage of the EDF ship Ticonderoga.” The voice answered.
“I’m hearing ghosts, I must be going crazy,” Chad mused. “You must be a ghost.”
“If that is what you wish to call me, sir,” Ghost replied, “Pilot integration program
completed, voice control is now activated.”
“You’re an AI.” Chad said. “Holy crap! They built an Ai into this thing. Alright, let’s
check on those life pods.” Chad called the Krikav, “Two life pods sighted.”
“Red Phoenix, recover those pods.” The colonel called out.
Georgianna sent Kaze and Louis after the nearer pod, she sped off after the farther one.
“Ghost, that nearer pod is moving toward the Krikav and it seems to be accelerating.”
Chad told his mech.
“That is correct,” Ghost replied. “The acceleration rate is increasing. The Red Phoenix
mechs should reach it in ninety eight seconds.”
“Strange,” Chad mused, “why is it accelerating toward the Krikav? It’s going to be going
to fast when it gets there.”
“Anomalies detected,” Ghost put the data on the screen in front of Chad.
Chad jerked upright, “Targeting, give me a resolution on that pod.” Chad’s fingers moved
quickly over the main console, setting up a link to Ben’s Lancer. “Bullseye! Shoot that pod.”
“What?” Ben asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Take it out Ben,” Chad yelled, “do it now.”
Ben spun around and fired the big rail gun. The bolt threaded its way between the two
Red Phoenix mechs and smashed into the life pod. The pod shattered like it had run into a solid
wall.
“What the HELL is going on, Ross?” The colonel called out. “You shot a life pod? What
are you trying to do?”

Ok, finally back with Chapter 32. Things are starting to heat up, Chad could be in big trouble for having Ben destroy a life pod, but then, what were his reasons. There's another pod out there, should he have Ben blast that one too? What would you do? Time to move into the action.

This forum doesn't seem to like the formatting from my Word Perfect documents, hope you can get through it alright.

Chapter 32

Dominic and Rose moved through the ruined ship, checking it room by room. The air
tight doors had been broken open, anyone who hadn’t made it to a life pod had died from the
vacuum, it was gruesome. They checked the control room but any hope of retrieving the log data
was futile. The consoles were smashed. They’d have to wait to see if the techs could salvage the
main memory banks. Suddenly they heard Chad yelling for Ben to fire....... on a life pod.
Dominic was shocked when he heard that Ben had destroyed the pod. “Chad, what the
hell is going on?” He yelled into the com.

Georgianna snapped around, “You damn idiot, you could have hit my men. What the
hell’s wrong with you?”

Colonel Helliwind stood stunned, he couldn’t believe one of his men would shoot a life
pod. What was wrong with Ross, destroying a pod, your own, or an enemies, was a capital
offence. Dan had wanted to give the kid a chance, even if he was bad seed, but this was to much.
“Lieutenant Ross, what is the meaning of this?” The colonel demanded. “What possessed you to
fire on a life pod.”

Ben turned on a private channel to Chad’s mech, “I hope you have a good explanation
buddy, or I think we’re both in deep dodo.”

Chad sat looking at the debris from the ruined pod, he’d been right, he had to have been.
“It was a trap, sir,” he answered.

Colonel Hellwind leaned on the console, “a trap! What made you think something like
that? Explain yourself, pilot.”

“It was accelerating toward the Krikav, sir, and there were traces of radiation, and
explosives, like a nuclear device.” Chad explained.

That’s absurd, Dan thought, no one would use a life pod as a trap, it just wasn’t done. He
wouldn’t buy that foolish excuse.

“Pilots analysis confirmed, sir,” Yuki said as she turned toward the colonel. “External
sensors are now on line, scans show large amounts of U-238 and HE-163, components of a
nuclear device. No organic remains were detected in the debris.”

The colonel stood up, no organic remains....... then it was a trap, a nuclear bomb. Even a
small yield weapon would have disabled the ship. Someone ruthless was trying to destroy the
Krikav, just as he had the Ticonderoga. Dan quickly glanced at the main viewing screen...... he
had spread out his forces and left the ship undefended.
Dan yelled into the com, “Green Giant, launch now! Weapons hot, take up defensive
positions.” He turned to Yuki, “what’s the reading on that other pod, could that be a bomb too?”
“Unknown, sir,” she answered, “the distance is to great for accurate data.”
“Blue four, can you get any scan on that other pod?” The colonel called to Chad.
“It’s kind of long range, sir, but it looks clean as far as I can tell.” Chad replied.
“Red one, proceed to that pod, but use caution.” Dan called out.

Georgianna was looking into the pod, the interior was dark, she shown her light around
the interior but didn’t see anyone. “I’m already looking in the pod,” she told the colonel, “the
engine is shut down and the thing’s empty, just a waste of time.” She turned off her light to leave,
“Wait........ There’s lights on the Med pod. Someone’s in the autodoc.”
“Red one, bring that pod in, if there’s a survivor, we need to question them.” Dan told
her.
“I’m on my way.” Georgianna pushed the pod with maximum thrust.

The colonel looked over the main screen. “Do you see anything out there on the scans,
Yuki? Any ships or mechs?”
“No sir,” she replied, “no sign of activity.”
“Keep a full scan going, they could be waiting behind those rocks.” Dan told the
controller. “I have a bad feeling that we’re being watched........ Blue four, keep an eye out for any
activity.”

“Yes sir,” Chad replied, feeling a bit guilty, he’d been watching captain McFairlane at the
life pod, not keeping watch for bandits. He looked around, using various sensors, but saw
nothing. “Ghost, run another full sweep for me.”
“Yes sir,” his mech replied, “full area scan executed, twenty four objects approaching the
Krikav.”
Chad sat up, “Where? I don’t see anything. What’s approaching?”
“Approaching vehicles are using cloaking, size and shape signatures would suggest
Thunderbird class mobile suits.” Ghost told him.
“What? Cloaked? How can you see them, where are they?” Chad questioned, wondering
if he could believe his newly found AI.
“I am using a search algorithm designed to test cloaking systems.” Ghost explained.
“They are using inferior cloaking, Their energy signatures are visible against background
radiation.”
“But where are they?” Chad demanded. Suddenly, in front of him, red markers hung in
space. Oh crap, he thought and called the ship. “Incoming! You’re under attack. I have twenty
four bogies coming at you, colonel.”

The colonel quickly scanned the main screen. “Yuki, where are they?”
“No approaching vehicles detected,” was her calm reply.
“Are you sure? Run a full scan again.” He told her. “Blue four, what bogies? Yuki says
there are no craft approaching.” Colonel Hellwind was confused. Lieutenant Ross had been right
about the life pod, he didn’t seem like the type who would panic, but the ships sensors weren’t
picking anything up.
“They’re there, colonel,” Chad called back, “they’re cloaked, they’ll be there in less than
two minutes.”

Chad saw a problem, Georgianna’s mech was nearer to several onrushing enemy. “Red
one, they’re right behind you.”
Georgianna turned and looked, there was nothing in her scans. Damn idiot, Ross. “Are
you paranoid or something, there’s nothing there.” She continued to push the pod toward the
Krikav.
“No, Red one, you have to turn around, they’re right behind you.” Chad pleaded
Stupid kid, Georgianna thought, must be panicking. She checked a rear sensor, just as a
black mech appeared behind her, beam rifle leveled at her. Georgianna swore as she spun around,
trying to get her arm shield between her and her attacker. She almost made it.

Hiki wrote:Niiiiiiiiiiice :3

Would you like to draw some illustrations for the epic book that's coming soon?

Me? Draw????? ROFL.............. You've seen my stick figures, the extent of my art capabilities.