[ShadowWolf_IH]

set in the upcoming Combat Federation mod, between Episode 3 "Comes the Rain", and Epsiode 4  " Thunder in the Distance" we plan to release Mercenary as a small campaign.  This story will be set in the time frame of Mercenary, which is 600 years after the Second Shivan Incursion......

Mercenary

(1)

He watched as the LIR Azrael kicked up onto it’s port wing and went high, expecting to pull a loop at about a 45 degree angle and come back in with guns blazing.  In return, Philip O’Shea, Commander, 2nd Flight, Red Squadron, 1st Wing of the Iron Horde saw the maneuver and quickly pulled out of the split S and practically turned his TEC Paladin on it’s Low Port Ventral Canard.  His guns were now squarely on the Azrael as she was at the Apex of her turn.  He shifted his guns to dual fire and increased all shields to the front.  Once his fingers were finished flying over the controls, he fingered the trigger.  Six bursts fired from his Velfire HL-56, and he watched with grim satisfaction as the shields buckled on the Azrael.  They were weakened.  Then the Azrael pulled something he wasn’t expecting, it flew directly toward him, all guns blazing.  He quickly pushed his stick to it’s forward stops and dropped the nose as the Azrael shot overhead, then pulled up again to reacquire his target.
“Sorry kid, not today,” his comm crackled in his ear.  The next thing he heard was the warning warble of an enemy missile lock.  Frantically he looked behind him, and found the faster and more agile Azrael on his tail, then the world outside his view screen went purple as his shields were splattered with multiple bursts of coherent light.  He was already shifting his shields aft and hitting his afterburners when the friendly female voice of his computer chimed in.   “Missile inbound, mark 180, at 8 angels, type Trident.  Evade.”
The Azrael was directly behind him at a distance of 800 meters and had fired a Trident at him.  His thumb began popping countermeasures out behind him as the missile closed, then he pulled back on the stick as hard as he possibly could.  Six beams of varying megajoule intensity lanced into his shields, and breaking through found purchase against the hull of his fighter.  The Paladin went into a roll and began scissoring as more of the deadly beams punched holes in his armor.  As he watched his HUD count down the distance between him and his enemy, he pulled his throttle completely back and swung the ship around, then lit off again with his afterburners.  His burners hadn’t had time to fully recharge, but right now he needed acceleration more than top speed.
Then it was over.  The Azrael again opened up with her primaries, and stitching her shots along the top of the craft, walked them right through his cockpit.  The system failure warnings hadn’t even had time to sound.
His HUD was replaced by two simple words.  “You’re dead.”
His comm again cracked to life.  “Get to debrief.”  His only reply was a dejected “Yessir.”  Damn it all to hell anyway, how does the old man do that crap? He must have the Simulator rigged.  Directive: The old man always wins.  There is no way that he could have done that, no way in hell.

“And what you should have done when you lost site of me was to turn away from my last known heading.  I was going to have to loop around to get you in my sights, and the better course of action would have been to fly at me along my trajectory, but entering the loop from my exit point.  Instead you tried to turn and pursue, and you got iced for your troubles.”  The old man was even more unhappy than usual.  “You know all of this, so just what the hell were you thinking about in there?  You are a member of the Iron Horde, we have to buy our craft, this isn’t a regular unit, we cannot afford to be losing fighters because a pilot had his mind elsewhere.  You wanted to be a mercenary, well then by god you’d better fly like one.  You want to be a member of this team?  Well then you’d better start forgetting what you know about flying, and start relearning it the right way.  We have never” he slammed his fist on the desk for emphasis here, “Never, lost an engagement, and we will not start now.  We do not tolerate showboating or going by your gut instinct.  You will either learn to fly with your head or you will find another outfit, am I clear?”  
There could be only one reply when he was like this.  “Loud and clear sir.”  The worst part was, he knew this.  He knew everything that Colonel MacAullay was saying. It was true, every damned word of it.  How could he have gotten so sloppy?  How could he not be flying the way he used to?  His worst fear was one that he was beginning to face, he had simply lost his edge.
“Commander?  Until we figure out what’s happening with you, I am afraid that I have no choice but to pull you off of active flight status.”  The Colonel actually looked sorry about this. Then he lowered his voice, and his command guard.  “I’m sorry Philip.  I need to know what’s going on with you, and until we know what it is, I can’t risk sending you up, not anymore.  This is a combat zone.  What’s going on with you son?”
“Permission to speak freely sir.”
“Speak.” The colonel replied as he took his chair behind his desk.  “And sit down.”
It was then that Philip noticed the worry in his commanding officer’s eyes.  The colonel may be a real pain at times, but no one could ever say that he didn’t care about his people.  His People were more to him than pilots and techs and admin personnel, they were real people with real problems, and their problems were his problems. At least as far as he was concerned.
“Sir,” Philip began, while maintaining his parade rest stance, “I’m holding on too tight, I’ve lost the edge.  I don’t know if I can get it back.”  As he said this he felt the lump rising in his throat, and the water coming into his eyes.  He knew that he had just told his C.O. that he may never be able to fly again.  He reached up to pull his wings off of his flight suit.
“No.”  was the only word spoken for a long time as his shaking hand hung near his wings. “No you will not remove your wings.  You are not quitting.  We’ve had this problem with others, we’ll work you through it. Get some rack time. I want 4 hours a day simulated combat from you, 3 against the computer, one against live targets.  I’ll assign the personnel I feel best suited to this. Dismissed.”
“Thank you Sir.” Was all that Philip could muster, anything more may have broken him, with that said he did an abrupt about face and left the room.  
For a long moment Colonel MacAullay sat in silence.  contemplating the future of Philip O’Shea.  “Mike?”
The anteroom door opened and Mike “Maddog” Geisendorff entered.  “Lost his edge my ass, his reactions are 8% higher than his average time.  The kid should be on fire in there.  He should have been eatin’ your lunch and embarrassing you.”
At times like this, it was good to have an X.O. who actually understood things.  “So what’s your recommendation?”
“Actually,” Lt. Colonel Geisendorff began, “I think you pretty much nailed it on the head.  He may not have lost his edge, but the fact is that he has a confidence problem.  He seems to be up there trying to protect himself more, and trying to kill the enemy less.  He isn’t taking the high risk moves that you invented, nor the ones that he invented.  There’s something goin on, and he’s trying to protect himself.  Treat this one as an edge loss.”
For a long time the two Colonels sat in silence, drawing comfort from the fact that at least the other one was working on the same problem.  Then MacAullay spoke up.  “If we were going into combat, would you want him with you?”
Mike thought for a moment then sadly shook his head. “No.  Jim? You know he might not come back, right?”
“Yeah, but as long he isn’t giving up, and will still listen when we tell him not to, we can’t give up either.”

[demon442]

NICE!

[Star Dragon]

You definately got that future top gun feel going. Also I like the mercenary theme, keep it up!

[Anaz]

cool...more more more pls...

[ShadowWolf_IH]

(2)

“Sir, at 04:28 hours, standard time, we lost all contact with our ambassador in the Vasudan Commonwealth.  He was touring their outer systems.  Last known whereabouts…..Antlia system.  We also have unconfirmed reports that the LIR has lost all communication with the Entire Tania Borealis Duchy.  No communication from any systems within that duchy.”  
Jayme Michaels, Adjutant to the Sovereign Defense Advisor eyed the young Lieutenant.  He was little more than a teenager.  How did he rate a post as cushy as this?  Jayme would be looking into it, but first things had to come first.  “Intel?”
The young louie looked nervous about something.  “Unconfirmed reports sir.”
“Ok, let’s just cut to the chase, what do we have to go on here?”
“Some reports say they were Terran, some say they were Vasudan.  Some say they were flying the GTVA banner on their warships.”
Jayme stopped staring out the window and immediately turned to face the lieutenant at this.  “Go on.”
“All of the reports state that the ships have never been seen before.  All of the reports claim to have been fired on first.  All of the reports claim that they were outmaneuvered, out gunned, and out numbered. From the unconfirmed reports, I would say that the LIR and the VAC are under attack from an unknown entity.”
“How long have you been attached to this office?” Jayme Asked.
“Two months Sir”
“Ok, when I ask for intel I want facts, when I ask for opinions I want opinions, try to keep the two separate.  I have to go to my boss with what we get, and Mr. Munoz isn’t a very pleasant person to bring bad news to.  Mostly because he in turn has to give that news to Precentor Macgregor.  Get on the horn, wake up 20,000 people.  I want solid Intel on this, and I want options.  Now then, what do we have that is solid?”
“Nothing Sir.”
“Ok, you want me to go to the Sovereign Defense Advisor and tell him that two of our neighbors have lost contact with some of their systems.  That one of those neighbors is an ally of ours, and that we have no idea what’s going on?  I don’t think so…..get on it.”
The young lieutenant looked startled for a moment.  “Yes Sir.  I’ll get into this personally.”
“Well enough.” Was all that Jayme would say as a form of dismissal.  After the lieutenant left, he exhaled loudly, and on his way back to his desk, he caught site of his reflection on a currently offline 3d monitor.  His youth, far behind him, he was quickly growing old.  Much faster than he would like to admit.  Somewhere during the last 13 years with the Sovereign Defense Committee, he’d come into middle age.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Sir we can’t send in our own operatives, it’s against the Delta Serpentis Accords.  The LIR doesn’t even know that we know, and the VAC is saying no.  No troops within their borders.  All we know for certain, is that a hostile force has attacked the Vasudan Commonwealth and we believe that they have also attacked the League of Interplanetary Races.  Communication with fringe systems has been lost.  The VAC is willing to risk a serious incident to keep us out of this.  We don’t take too kindly to them misplacing one of our ambassadors, and they know this. Yet they persist in keeping our troops outside their border.  We have offered to send in a small force to help with the search.  No go.  We have offered civilian science vessels with advanced scanning equipment.  Again, no go.  We have been blocked at every turn.  The only thing we can do according to the Accords is to lend them some troops.  Non house troops sir.  Mercs.”
Sovereign Defense Advisor Munoz had the ability to appear to be looking through the person he was talking to.  Even over vidconferencing, this was disconcerting to say the least.  For long moments the two sat in silence, Jayme staring at the screen, Munoz staring through jayme, at god only knew what.
“Who were you thinking about hiring?” Munoz Finally asked.
“Well sir, we have a number of outfits on retainer , I was thinking about moving the DG into the Nekkar nebula, and using the Horde.”
Something shifted in Munoz expression at the mention of the Iron Horde.  He had had several run ins with Macaullay in the past, both political and military.  Although he had won in most of the political arenas, he had never beaten him militarily, and for a merc outfit, that was where it counted.
“They aren’t very subtle, Adjutant.”
Jayme hated the way that Munoz loved to make sure that his subordinates knew they were his subordinates, but when dealing with bureaucrats, it was to be expected. “I know sir, but right now I don’t think subtlety is what we need.  They are the best.  If we want solid intel, they are the ones to use.”
Once again, that disconcerting stare.  Finally, Munoz said, “Hire the bastaard.”

[ShadowWolf_IH]

i plan to put the entire thing here as i write it.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

(3)

“Let’s go people, get it packed up.  I want to be ready to move in 24 hours.  When the DG gets here, I want to have everything ready to go.  Iggy? The fighters ready for cover during the subspace jump?”  Lieutenant colonel Geisendorff asked.
   Iggy was the lead tech for the Entire first wing of the Iron horde.  Not following a typical command structure, The IH had it’s fighters set into 5 ship flights, 3 flight Squadrons, and 3 squadron wings.  Iggy was the oldest member of the IH chronologically speaking, and one of the oldest members in seniority.  Although a bit eccentric, he was probably the best tech in Terran Coalition space.  
   “Ready and waiting.  1st flight is green.  2nd flight is green, and by the time 3rd flight stands the watch, they will be prepped for subspace ops.  Basically, green squadron is go.  Red and Blue squadrons are set up for immediate launch.  Ordinance has been designated and packed aboard support. Pilot recovery craft in case of pilot going extra vehicular are set and ready to fly.  Just say the word and we go.”
   “Ok,” Lt. Colonel Geisendorff began, “we have a rep from the SDC coming aboard for this op, and he will be expecting to meet with Colonel macaullay, Myself, and you at 1630 hours standard.  Be here then.  Anybody else?”
   When no one answered Geisendorff took this as a sign that everything was proceeding according schedule, if not faster.  They’d done this a million times.  “If no one has any problems or rough spots, let’s get our people moving.  The boss wants us to head out asap, we give him what he wants.”  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“So what happens now?” Tab Macaullay asked.  
   “I don’t know.  He took me off flight status. I don’t know what happens now.  How do you feel?” Philip asked.
   “I feel fine, I promise.  I just wish I could find a way to tell dad that I’m pregnant.”
   Tabitha Macaullay was the only child that Jim Macaullay had.  Her mother had died in childbirth, even after all of the medical advances, every woman was still closest to death during childbirth.  
   Phil put his hand on Tab’s stomach, and imagined that he could feel the tiny life growing inside her.  His child was growing in there.  And the boss didn’t even know that he and Tab were together.  Much less pregnant.  
   “You know he doesn’t trust your combat instincts anymore, right?”
   Philip stopped for a second, deep in thought, wounded.  When he turned to look at Tab, he saw what he didn’t expect, what she had said hurt her as much as it had him. Then she grabbed him and held on tight.  “I’m scared.”
   He held on as tightly as she did, “I know, so am i.”


“I’m transferring tab to the Brimstone.  She isn’t going with us.  We don’t know what’s out there.” Jim Macaullay told his friend.
“I don’t blame you.  What about O’shea?”
“He’s going with us.”  
“Jim…..’
“Mike I know what you’re gunna say,” Macaullay cut him off.  “But he needs to be there.  Even if he isn’t flying.  There isn’t anything he can do here, and somewhere out there, he may regain himself.  If he does we need to be there.  If not, we need to be there to help him through it.  It’s been almost two weeks, his reactions improve, his flying ability plummets.  I don’t know how to beat this one.  We need to find out what’s wrong, what’s going on with him.”  
At which point he stopped to knock on the door in front of him.  He knew that Tab would take it hard, being left behind, but he just couldn’t bring her into an unknown situation.  When she didn’t answer, he knocked again.  He was about to turn to leave when he decided to check in on her, make sure she was OK.  He silently opened the door to her stateroom.  
Her look said it all.  Philip’s look said more.  Jim closed his eyes and turned half away, then turned back to them.
“Colonel,” Philip started, “I can explain.”
The anger that Colonel Jim Macaullay of the Iron horde felt flooded into his eyes, his voice, his very core.  “oh, you can explain, I want to hear this. You wait here, I’ll be right back.”
He turned to leave when Tab grabbed his arm.  “Daddy no!”
“Put some clothes on Tab.  It’ll be alright honey, I’ll take care of this.”
With that, he was out the door and heading quickly down the corridor toward the weapons locker.  Mike turned to look at Tab and Philip.  “He’s gunna shoot you.”
Philip just looked at Lt. Colonel Geisendorff. “No he’s not.”
“Yes I am!!!” came a voice from down the corridor, the command voice of Colonel James Macaullay.  
Mike took off running after him, and caught up.  “I’m not sure this is entirely legal.”
“It’s OK Mike, I’m not all here at the moment.  Did you know about this?” Jim looked at his best friend.  “yup, you knew.” His stride became longer.  
Mike turned to see Philip running full speed in the opposite direction, and tab running in their direction.
“Here she comes.” Mike said, and then found a passage conveniently placed to his left, he took it, leaving Jim to walk on in silence.
“Daddy this is not funny.  I’ve been seeing Philip for 8 months.”
“Not after today.” Came Jim’s stoic reply.
“You can’t tell me what to do anymore, I’m not your little girl.  I can make my own choices.”
“Philip’s not a choice, he’s the only person your age that you’ve ever known.”
Tabitha macaullay jumped in front of him, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his little girl.  She was so tiny, and so defiant.  When the hell did she grow up anyway?  Where was his little girl?
“Daddy please, I understand the fact that you are socially inept and out of touch with your feelings.” She said softly.  
“Tabitha get out of my way.”
She stood her ground, defiant until the end.  He put his hands on her arms and gently moved her out if his way.  Now stay out of my way.
Forgetting about his exceptional hearing as he was walking away, she muttered under her breath, “Hi junior, this is grandpa, he shot daddy.”
   Then she caught herself, and looked up in time to see her father slowly turn to lower his icy gaze on her.
   “Tell me I didn’t hear what I know I heard.  Tell me I didn’t hear it.”
   “Daddy please, I really need you to understand right now.”
   “Listen tab, I want you heading planetside in six hours, the Brimstone will pick you up.  We are taking the Fire into the Combat Zone.”
   “You mean you don’t want me going?”
   “You got it, we are heading into a situation filled with unknowns, you are not going on this op.  We’ll be aboard Fire, you’ll be aboard Brimstone.”
   Tabitha just looked at him.  “No way.  I’m going with you.”
   And the stand off continued between two of the most deadly opposing forces known to man.  A father with a daughter he was trying to protect, and a daughter who wasn’t having it.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

(4)
“I don’t think talkin’ to him right now is such a hot idea Phil.  I’ll think he’ll shoot you.” Lt. Colonel Geisendorff told the young man. Even though he could see that Philip needed to talk to his Commanding Officer, it was more plain that right now Philip needed to talk to his hero.
“Sir, I don’t know what to do.”
Tabitha turned back from the window.  “You pack your bags and get ready for this trip, we only have a few hours left until we leave.”
Philip looked at her, “you’re not going.”
“Neither are you.” The Lt. Colonel told him.
“The hell I’m not." Tabitha nearly shouted, " And for what it’s worth all senior personnel are allowed one person with them, I choose Philip.  Now go pack, we are going.”
The door seemed to erupt in anger as it was flung open, and in walked Colonel James Macaullay, who barely glanced at Philip.  
“Didn’t I fire you? You might want to get out of my site.”
Tabitha moved to a strategic intercept position between them, she knew both men’s tempers.  Whereas her father was an explosive man, Philip was much more reserved about his.  His tempered stayed in check and boiled for a while before it finally blew his lid off.  
“Stop it daddy this isn’t going to work.”
“And quit hiding behind my little girl.   If there is one thing I will not have it’s my daughter marrying a damned mercenary.  She’s better than that.”
Lt. Colonel Geisendorff looked as if he were about to say something to that when the colonel silenced him with a look.
“Better than all of us.”  At least he put himself in the not worthy category with the rest of them.
“Colonel….” Philip began
“Shut it and get out of my site you snot nosed little bandit.  The last thing I need right now is hear the voice of a washed up has been of a pilot.  Get out of my site, and get off my ship.”
“Daddy that’s enough.” Tabitha said from between them, noticing that two men had been inching closer to one another during the conversation.
“You get the hell off my ship too.  You want to play games with this loser, then you can go join him in his fate.  And that is not my grandchild.”
The look of pain on Tabitha’s face was evident before the words that he immediately regretted had finished coming out of his mouth.
She turned to find comfort from Philip, but he was having his own internal battle.  At that moment, seeing her in pain, every emotion he had ever felt collided violently within him.  Within the span of a half a second, only two emotions remained near the surface.  Anger and sorrow battled as to which would show itself.  In the end, sorrow lost a hell of a fight.
The colonel was half turned away and barely caught site of the punch as it landed squarely on his left temple. Knocking him two feet away from where he was, he quickly recovered and charged at Philip, Tabitha had been wise enough to get out of the way.  Lt. Colonel Geisendorff had already grabbed Philip and thrown him clear and took the brunt of the crushing tackle that the colonel threw.
Philip was just grabbing the colonel when the security force arrived.  He and Lt Colonel Geisendorff were both hauled to the ground.
“Let go of them.”  The colonel said quietly, yet somehow his voice cut through the confused shouts.  All heads turned to look at the grizzled veteran.
“I said, let them go.” He said again, even more softly, but through a clenched jaw.  The security force was all too quick to comply with his order.
“O’shea, get packed.  I’ll meet you at your shuttle and we can finish this conversation.  1 hour.”
“You got it.” Philip said as he turned and left the room.
To the Guards the Colonel said, “you are dismissed, no charges will be filed.  The incident never happened.  Am I clear?”
All of the guards replied in a single voice, “yes Sir!” then quickly vacated the area.  No one wanted to be around Colonel James macaullay when he was this livid.  His daughter stood directly in front of him.
“Tabitha…”
His sentence was cut off immediately by the stinging slap that his daughter delivered, damn it if she wasn’t just like her mother.  “I hate you.”
He would never let the hurt of that statement show.  He would never let the tears he choked back flow.  He would never let his daughter know how much she had hurt him with that statement.  
“I didn’t mean it Tab.  I promise you I didn’t.” was all he said to her.
“You also promised to always stand by me, to be there and try to understand everything with me, we see how far that promise went.”
Lt Colonel Geisendorff was shuffling his feet; “Maybe I better leave.”
“No, you better stay, this affects you too.  Tabitha, get your gear packed, and get it stowed on the shuttle, same with…His.  I’ll see you in the Hangar.”
“Why daddy, so I can watch you two beat the **** out each other?”
“No, we have a trip to take, and an enemy force out there, I want him to be on this mission.”
She suddenly looked bewildered, and a tad mistrustful.  “I thought you said you couldn’t trust his combat instincts anymore.”
The colonel rubbed his temple, “I thought you said I could, besides, he knew when to throw a punch, maybe we just need to remind him what the hell he’s fighting for.  But when we get back, I’ll handle this my way.  You are not going to marry him.  Now get moving, you don’t have much time.”

[ShadowWolf_IH]

that's the beginning of the story, do i bother finishing it in this thread, or do i just finish it and let the thread die?

[Sesquipedalian]

It's a good story.  I'd read more if you posted it.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

one person enjoying it is good enough for me.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

(5)

The Hangar Bay doors opened and the shuttle “Diamond” waited there with all of the men of second flight.  First flight was already aboard “Fire”, the Corvette that would be going with them.  Most Mercenary groups had a hard time keeping a wing going, and in the beginning so did the Iron Horde.  Luck though was with them, and the shrewd cunning of James Macaullay.  Swinging a deal for absolute salvage rights first got him a Kenaz class cruiser; of course he was already up to squadron size when this happened.  The TEC, his employer, had refused to give up the cruiser.  During the months of legal battles that soon followed, the Iron Horde grew by it’s reputation alone.  Jumping from a three-wing squadron, to two squadrons, then to a full Flight.  James, who was calling himself Commander then, had to turn people away at the door.  Finally, the TEC relented after being threatened with sanctions by M.O.C, the Mercenary Overview Commission.  When a mercenary failed in his duties, due to negligence, the employer contacted M.O.C.  When an employer breached his contract, the mercenary contacted M.O.C.  Thus, through the intervention of the M.O.C., and the threat of being blacklisted, in which case it would be a very long time indeed before another Mercenary group would work for them, the Iron Horde acquired what was later to be dubbed Bannockburn.  After James Macaullay’s home on Terra.  
   
From the Bannockburn sprang new forms of wealth.  Her cargo hold was heavily modified to accommodate a squadron of fighters, and though space was cramped, and she was already an aging vessel, the men and women of the IH loved her for what she was, a home.  She still served in the Iron Horde, even though she seldom saw combat.  She was the base of operations for the entire group.  Very few mercenary groups were lucky, or good enough to acquire a warship.  In the early days of her operation, she was nearly lost to battle twice.  It was during the second battle that James Macaullay realized that while he was a fine pilot, and a brilliant fighter tactician, he didn’t know enough about capitol warfare to keep his people alive.  He hired someone who could do the job.  Giving him the rank of Lt. Colonel, Mike Geisendorff took the helm of the Bannockburn.  Three cruisers destroyed and two corvettes acquired later, he was still running the small fleet, and was the executive officer of the Iron Horde.  He considered himself damned lucky to be a part of this group.  Each day he looked into the eyes of some of the men and women that he may have to lead into battle, and he never found fear.  He was as proud of his crew as any ship captain in a proper navy could have been.  

As he stepped into the main hangar aboard Fire, he hoped that she would be enough.  She was a fine ship, a ship steeped in tradition.  The traditional helm console was added to with an ancient wheel from a ship of the Terran 20th century.  When nation states had not yet united and warred on each other.  The helm from the USS Nimitz sat completely out of place on the bridge of the Fire, as did the Helm of the USS Coral Sea aboard her sister ship, the Brimstone.  Fully functional, but able to be overridden with a simple switch, they added an air of tradition.  Which was the true function in Lt. Colonel Geisendorff’s mind.  It reminded him and his crew of the proud crews and captains before them, when navies were still water bound, and not yet space bound.

No one noticed him. Which was good.  He tried to make his way quietly to the shuttle, which was where the Colonel was waiting with Tabitha.  Philip had yet to show up, and at a glance the Lt Colonel knew that his C.O. was less than pleased.  It was then that the warning Klaxons went off announcing a ship coming from subspace.

“On Bannockburn, General Quarters General Quarters. Reason for General Quarters, unknown ship in the area bearing on Bannockburn.  General Quarters weapons crews to the ready; all damage control personnel report the DC central, all nonessential personnel strap into you racks.  This is not a drill.”

Before the statement was ended Lt Colonel Geisendorff was already at a full sprint heading for the lift that would take him to the bridge, Colonel Macaullay not far behind.  He reached the lift and nearly screamed “Bridge!” Until he saw the Colonel and Tabitha running up behind him.  As soon as they were in, the Colonel himself gave the order and the lift took them up 6 decks to the bridge.

“Are they hailing?” Lt. Colonel Geisendorff asked.

“Sir we have hailed them, and they have not responded.” Came the reply from the Officer of the deck.  These officers are either starting younger or he was getting older.  He hoped it was the former.  

“On screen.”

“On screen aye.” From his Tac officer.  Yet another naval tradition of repeating the order given.

The main view shifted from a tactical overview of the situation to a live picture.  At this distance it was still uncertain what kind of vessel was bearing down on them, but it was smaller than they were.  Which really didn’t matter.  

“Warbook calls it a Piranha sir.”

“Now why would a Piranha be charging a Kenaz cruiser?”  The Colonel asked no one in particular.

“Why indeed.” Was the reply given by the Lt. Colonel.  “Charge forward batteries.  Get me a firing solution.  Comm, put them on the 1mc.  I’ll hail them myself."

“Forward batteries charging aye, firing solution incoming.” From the weaps officer.

“You are on comm sir, opening all frequencies, now.”  From the comm officer.

“This is Lt Colonel Geisendorff of the Iron Horde.  You are bearing down on my ship, the Bannockburn, unknown Piranha, state your intent.”

“Bannockburn, this is Piranha we have urgent business with Colonel Macaullay. Over.”

“Piranha you will state your business or you will prepare to be fired on, am I clear?  Launch fighters on an intercept course, standard ROE.”  The standard Rules of Engagement for an unknown vessel were to close to within weapons range, but not to fire unless witnessing a hostile act.

“Bannockburn we need to speak with Colonel Macaullay, and Colonel Macaullay only. Those are my orders.  Request permission to come aboard.”

“Tac get me a scan of their weapons system as soon as we have a fighter in range.  Colonel?  It’s your call.”

“Ordering scan aye.”

“This is what I hired you for.” The Colonel told his X.O.

“OK people, let’s see if we can make em blink.  Weaps I want a beam shot 50 meters above that craft, time it for the arrival of our fighters, warn them not to fire unless they are fired on.  Launch a transport.  You will fire on my mark. Open comm.”

“Firing solution data aye sir.”

“Comm is open Sir.”

“Piranha you will stay your distance, I repeat come no closer, we will send a transport out to you.”

“With all due respect Bannockburn, my orders are to speak with Colonel Macaullay.”

“And you are bearing down on my ship, you will halt where you are or I will fire.”

“Bannockburn, I don’t see how…..”

“Fire.”  

The Bannockburn let out a small shudder as the hiss of the beam cannon sounded through her hull.  50 meters above the Piranha the billions of megajoules of coherent light destroyed nothing, but got the attention of the vessel, which immediately took evasive maneuvers.

“Sir, Delta Lead reports weapons powered down.”

“Well that’s the first smart thing they’ve done.  Open comm.”

“Open comm aye.”

“Piranha, you will halt.  My weapons officer is angry enough that I told him to miss.  He likes firing, and he is a fine shot.  I won’t order him to miss a second time.”

“Bannockburn, we read you loud and clear.  Engines are at full reverse for all stop.  Please send transport.   Be advised that you nearly fried Jayme Michael’s, Adjutant to the SDA.  Over.”

The Colonel and the Lt Colonel looked at each other in bewilderment.  What the hell was a guy from the office of the Sovereign Defense Advisor wanting?

[Ace Pace]

COOL, nice story, mind compiling it in .doc?

[ShadowWolf_IH]

When it's done i will post a compiled .doc on the Mercenary section of the Combat Federation website.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

sorry i've been out so long and haven't been working on this like i should be, but Real Life takes Precedence.  Anyway....here's Chapter 6.

(6)

“Thank you for allowing us to land.”  The ASDA began.  “Let’s not mince words, you were chosen specifically for this mission.  We are also sending a company of marines with you.”

The words of the ASDA struck Colonel James Macaullay like a hammer blow.  These weren’t just Marines that he was expected to bring along, but more likely watchdogs.  He eyed the ASDA warily for a few long moments, taking in his opponent in this sparring match.  This was his command, his mission, and he’d be damned if someone who had probably never fired a gun before would be telling him how to run it.

“I’ll be going as well.” Jayme Michaels, ASDA said with his eyes locked to those of the Colonel.

That was where the Colonel drew the line.  

“Like hell.” Was all he said. He had moved himself to block anyone from entering the rest of the ship.  

“I understand your reluctance, I only ask that you hear me out.  But don’t be under the illusion that this is your operation, if you take on this mission you will be falling directly under the jurisdiction of the SDC. And I have my orders to give you.  Now, can we go someplace private and talk?”

“Anything you need to say you can say in front of my men, but before you say another word, you have those men halt the unloading operation, either they stop now, or you start loading it and get the hell off my boat.”  The tone of his voice left no room for argument.  

“Markinson, have the Marines stop unloading the equipment.”

One of the two men who had approached the Colonel and his entourage turned and left to confer with the Marines.

“Colonel as per your orders I have halted my operation, I now again ask to speak with you and your senior staff in private.”

The Colonel looked the man in the eye.  This man had no fear of the Colonel, that was readily apparent, but he also had no desire to usurp command of the operation, he would acquiesce to the Command of the Colonel.

“Fine, get your senior staff together and we will meet in CIC in 20 minutes.  Mike? Have someone assigned to act as escort until the meeting.”

“Aye Sir.” The Executive Officer of the Iron Horde replied.



Twenty minutes later they were all seated in the Combat Information Center.  The Colonel, Lt. Colonel Geisendorff, and Captain Marion Bradley, Commanding officer of the Bannockburn, Jayme Michaels, Adjutant to the Sovereign Defense Advisor, Marine Corps Captain Jonathon Thorvald, and Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant Dean Meyer were seated around a table set up for staff meetings in the corner of the CIC.  

“You asked to speak to us in private, let’s hear it.”

The ASDA was the first to speak. “Colonel I apologize for the way this has all come about, but you have to understand that these are uncertain times, and this is an uncertain mission.  You are going out to find out what happened to a certain number of ships who have disappeared without a trace, into territory which is not ours, and may very well be hostile.  My orders are simple, to accompany you and the Marines.  The Marines Codecs have all been removed; they are effectively personna non grata.  They do not exist.  They are members of your own force for the duration.  You are to retain command of the operation, unless the event calls for ship boarding or ground force actions, in which case Captain Thorvald will take command of those operations.  You will still maintain command of your forces.  We don’t know what to expect out there, and quite frankly, these men are trained to deal with the unknown, your landing forces are not.  During transit your forces are to be placed training with the Marines, to learn how best to back them up in any given situation.  You and your men were chosen because you are the best at what you do, and these men are the best at what they do.  The political situation does not allow for us to land troops in the target area.”

For a long moment the colonel looked at the men seated across from him.  “Gentlemen this doesn’t sound like a military mission, but a counter intelligence mission.  I will retain full command of this operation, and in the event that ground forces are needed, or ship-boarding actions seem warranted, it will be my decision, No one else’s.  Your Marines will be berthed near the Hangar, they can use the hangar for recreation and training purposes, all weapons are to be turned over immediately to my Master at Arms, and will be checked out only with low power packs for training.  Your Marines will not stray form their berthing or the Hangar with the exception of chow, and/or sick bay.  The three of you will have berthing in officer’s quarters.  Are these rules acceptable?”

“Sir,” the Gunnery sergeant Began, “while I appreciate the accommodations you are offering, I must respectfully decline, my place is with my men.”

One look at the Gunny told the Colonel all he needed to know.  This man had seen more combat than most people have ever seen even in Tri D movie.  He was someone that the Colonel could respect.  

“Fine.  Get your gear stowed, get your people berthed.  See to it Captain Bradley.”

Captain Bradley, Commanding Officer Bannockburn had only one thing to say “Aye Aye sir.”  

She stood as if to leave then turned to Marine Corps Captain Thorvald. “For the Duration of this mission you are to take the honorary rank of Major, there can only be one captain onboard a ship.”

With that she slid the gold Crossed Hammers that denote a Major in the Iron Horde to Captain Thorvald.  He was effectively now a Major.

[ShadowWolf_IH]

(7)
“Never in all my years have a seen Marines in my fine corps move as slowly as you!”  Staff sergeant Pardoe screamed at his men on the flight deck of the Bannockburn.

At just over two meters tall, Pardoe cut an impressive figure, even through his combat fatigues; it was easy to see that he was well muscled.  As the commander of 3rd Platoon, J Company, 4th battalion, it was his job to keep his 4 fire teams alive.  This was done through a strict regimen of barely controlled rage.  On the outside, he was ready to physically pummel any man who was not giving his fair 125% of the effort to get the job done.  On the Inside, he was proud, it had taken his marines only 8 minutes to fully unload, and secure all of the platoon gear.  The crates holding the gear were secured to the deck in preparation of the jump to subspace.

“You will not hold this jump.  No jump has ever been held up due to the fact that marines were not ready, we will not break that tradition of my beloved corps!  Do you understand me?”

As one his men shouted in return “Yes Staff Sergeant!”

“You have twelve minutes marines.  Twelve long, Continuous minutes to get to the master at arms shed, and then get to your berthing compartments.  Weapons will be stowed in the MAA shack; your personal gear will be stowed in the berthing compartments.  These two Civilians will accompany you to the target areas.  You will extend them your every courtesy; you have invaded their home.  The rules they live by are the laws you will abide.  Am I clear Marines?”

“Yes sir.”

“Very well.  As soon as we are underway through subspace you will all assemble back here in parade ground for mission briefing with the Gunny.  Well done and fall out marines.”

As if they had practiced the maneuver a million times, the Marines of 3rd platoon fell into a solid line behind one of the “Civilians” and began to follow him to the MAA Shack.  The other Civilian brought up the rear.  Privates first, Privates First Class second, Lance Corporals third, and Corporals behind them.

The Civilians were actually part of one of the best fast reaction forces known to man.  They were iron horde.  


On the bridge of the Bannockburn, things were fully automated, yet all things were checked and double-checked, and all orders confirmed, as was tradition.

The Colonel watched as the skipper brought the ship to jump status.  No matter how many times he had been there before, the preparations and jump to Subspace always fascinated him.  The sheer power that enabled a ship to literally rip a hole in space and fall through it, only to reappear through another rip in another place in the galaxy was mind boggling.  

Although a commonplace occurrence, it was widely known that while transit through subspace was safe enough, the forces a ship had to withstand during the jump into or out of subspace could be harsh.  Something as simple as a solar flare at the wrong moment could push a ship a few degrees off, leaving a part of her bow exposed to the umbrella like gravitic flux of a star, and that would spell death for all hands.  More than once a ship had been lost due to improper positioning.  The larger the ship, the more dangerous it was to make the jump.  The jump was by far the most dangerous part of space travel, and even though it had been happening for nearly 8 centuries, the Colonel knew that interstellar travel was still in its effective infancy.  He would leave it to the professionals.

“Navigation, lay course Charlie.”  The Skipper said.

“Lay course Charlie Aye.” Navigation responded.

“Seals set for optimum pressurization.”

Optimum pressurization aye.”

“Electromagnetic harmonics aligned, do it and give status report.”

“Harmonics aligned,” the first officer spoke up on his cue.  “Nav is green, com is green, magnetics are green, grav flux is minimal, Matrix is within acceptable limits, Powerplant is running slightly hot, same as always sir.  Looks like we’re through revving the engines and are ready on your mark.”

“Very well, on my mark.”  

With that he turned to the Colonel, who was almost always on the bridge during subspace jump.  “At your leisure sir.”

James macaullay surveyed the bridge crew of the Bannockburn, though no one looked back at him, he knew that they could feel his eyes on each of them.  The simple fact that they ignored him and kept to the task at hand was enough to give him the proud moments that a man of his advances years has come to cherish.  Made him think of the people who had sat in those seats, under his command, and before the ship was his, and the way they simply accepted the responsibility, and the calm professionalism with which they bore it.  While all men think that no one could possibly respect his crew more than they did, in the case of James Macaullay, he may have been right.

He was about to give to the order when the door to bridge slid open with an audible hiss, but also a barely audible grind.  He turned to see who was entering the bridge, and Jayme Michaels, ASDA strode onto the bridge, alone.  

“Excuse me if I am interrupting, please do not let me distract you, I just wanted to be on the bridge observing when we got underway.  I’ve never seen the jump from this perspective, and I may never have another chance.”

The colonel eyed the ASDA without malice.  “I can allow that, I’ve been there myself.  Captain, at your leisure please bring us safely into subspace.”

“Aye aye sir.  Helmsman?  Bring us into subspace, now.”

“Engaging subspace drive.”

No sooner had he said the words than they watched as the space around them ripped open and the brilliant blue white of subspace peaked through.  The ship seemed to shudder just a bit, and then was literally sucked into the swirling vortex of subspace.  

The power of the moment subsided, and normal ships ops resumed.  The Colonel turned to look at the ASDA; “I always like to watch the jump into subspace.  Let’s face it Mr. Michaels, you didn’t come here just to watch the jump.  What’s on your mind?”

“Actually I would like to give you a full report in private.”

Fine, we’ll talk about it in my stateroom, come with me.”  He started to walk through the doors that again opened, but turned to Captain Bradley.  

“Marion? The door is making a noise, have it checked out.”  He gave him a quick wink as he said it.

“Aye sir.”

[ShadowWolf_IH]

you guys really can question, comment, criticize....whatever, i'm just tired of writing while the crickets chirp if you know what i mean.

[Windrunner]

nice story. haven't read all the chapter but i will. just keep them coming. and ro all you others. try at least to write a comment

[ShadowWolf_IH]

(8)

He opened the canopy on the simulator and wiped sweaty hands on his flight suit before exiting.  Commander Philip O’shea had just gotten “butt stomped” again by Lt. Colonel Geisendorff.  The simpod behind him now reflected his mood, empty, yet stuffy and hard to breathe in.  Lt. Colonel Geisendorff was just exiting the simpod next to him.

“Get out of that flight gear, get a shower, and be in my office in twenty.” He told the Commander.

“Yes sir.”

Once Philip had left the area, the Lt. Colonel walked quickly into the control room to look at the stats, and to review the flight recorders from both pods.  Tabitha macaullay was still in there.  The eyes of the two met briefly and then in a moment of embarrassment, the Lt. Colonel looked away.  It was hard enough to trounce Commander O’shea; it was downright embarrassing to do so in front of tab.

“How long have you been watching?”

“The whole time.  Why are you taking it easy on him Mike?”

“Tab, I don’t think we should be discussing this.  In fact, I don’t think you should be here at all while we try to work him through it.”

“He didn’t know I was in here.  You aren’t pushing him at all; you are just flying around and making mistakes for him to capitalize on.  Does my father plan to take Phil into combat?”

“You know I can’t talk about that Tab.  But for what it’s worth, you’re right, I’m not pushing him, I’m being easy on him, and he is getting killed.  According to all of this, he should be trashing my every move out there.  His reaction times are up a full 12% from where they were, and I know he has the knowledge.  He just isn’t feeling his way through it; he is trying to think his way through it.  And I know why.  He’s scared.”

Tab took a long moment to digest what her friend and XO had just said to her.  “I know he is.  I’m scared mike.  If he flies another mission out there right now, he won’t come back from it.  I don’t want to loose him.”

“None of us wants to loose him Tab.  I know what the problem is, but it’s a new one, so I’m not sure how to get him past it.  Off the record.  He’s afraid of that child growing up without knowing him.  He’s afraid of giving your child the childhood he had, and it’s got him all messed up in the head.  He’s hanging on too tight, he’s thinking instead of feeling, his reactions are up and he is freezing.  Look at his med readouts…his heart rate is way up, I gotta be honest, he won’t survive an engagement with a hostile force, and he may very well get his team killed out there as well.”

“So how are you going to pull him through this?”

“I don’t know sweetheart.  I just don’t know.”

“When mom left, I was always terrified when dad went off to fight, I had to learn that he was going to come home.  I couldn’t handle it if Philip was lost out there.  You have to pull him through.”

Lt. Colonel Michael Geisendorff stared at Tabitha for a long time while he thought.  Then he sat down at the computer and began working.  “I need to be alone for a while, do me a favor will ya?  Go to my office and tell Philip that I canceled our debrief, he is to meet me back here at 0800 tomorrow morning, ready to fly.  This is the last thing I can try short of flying all out against him.”


………………………………………………………………………………………………

“I thought you’d already briefed us on what was happening.”  The colonel said quietly to the ASDA.

“Hear me out, this is all classified, and you aren’t supposed to know about it.  There is nothing routine about this mission.  The TEC Ambassador to the Vasudan Commonwealth is out of contact; we have no idea what’s happened to him.  The LIR has lost contact with an entire Duchy.  We have unconfirmed reports that the ships in the area are flying the old GTVA banner.”

“The GTVA?”

The Galactic Terran Vasudan Alliance had been gone for nearly 300 years.  Some claim it was a golden age of learning and philosophy.  Technology advanced in non-military areas.  It was centuries of peaceful coexistence.  It had been gone for nearly 300 years, and now, someone was making it resurface.  The big question was why.

“We have no idea who it is, but they appear to have attacked the VAC and the LIR.  This is a recon mission, we go in, find out what the hell is going on, and get out.  That’s the bottom line.”

The colonel just stared at him for a long period, then sighed heavily.  “Maybe we should have a drink while we talk about this, I know I could use one.  Aldebarran Brandy?”

“I would love some, Colonel.”

[Hudzy]

Just read all that for the first time. Definately some great content there.