Tuesday, March 25, 2014

>>> Brothers in battle...

Battle-Brother Caendirn
Roaring Iron, Thunder's Vengeance
Deathwatch Devastator Marine

--

Geiarsson Krakenspear
Lightning Across The Ice, Young Wolf of the Forge
Space Wolf Iron Priest
Deathwatch Techmarine

Geiarsson, before his elevation to the ranks of the Sky Warriors, was a young, tribeless hunter who wandered the seas of Fenris with his surviving kin, trading half or more of their hunts for shelter and protection of other sympathetic tribes.

While resting under the protection of another tribe, they were set upon by unknown foes while most of its warriors were away. With first bow and arrow, then blade and spear, the young hunter danced along the walls and grounds of the village, carving a bloody furrow through the numerically superior foe. Darting here and there like greased lightning, sweat and blood steaming off his body, protecting kin and ally alike with a song of the hunt and a ghostly grin upon his lips.

Until he was finally surrounded, spent of energy, covered in the bloody gore of the foe and his lifeblood trickling slowly out of over two dozen wounds. Panting heavily, he stood erect with a lopsided grin as a giant in dark crimson stalked across the blood-soaked ground. With a rumbling growl, the giant picked up Geiarsson and corralled his surviving kin, and disappeared into the wintry wastes of Fenris.

That was over two centuries ago. Since then, Geiarsson has been one of the youngest Wolves to be inducted and initiated into the Iron Priesthood, his knack for craft- and forge-work standing him in good stead. He has proven to be a hunter of prodigious skill and fortune, having hunted almost all manner of Fenrisian creatures, from the fabled Wolves of Asaheim to the almost mythic Kraken of the Fenrisian Depths.

He has sailed the Ocean of Stars amongst the retinues Great Companies, setting his own saga in iron and stone amongst the epics of another Great Hunt which set him against many foes of the Imperium, amongst them the Traitor Legions. Now, his saga has brought him to the Watch Fortress of Erioch, to lend his skills and experience to the Deathwatch of the Ordo Xenos.

Description: A giant of a man, wrapped in a leather bodysuit, stands proudly in the middle of his meditation chamber, eyes the colour of a winter storm ringed in gold looking out from a weather-beaten, darkly-tanned face criss-crossed with pale blade scars, his gigantic arms crossed across his immense chest. His scalp half shorn for the trio of electro-grafts implanted behind his ear at the base of his skull, his red mane worn long to fall over the right of his head. He is clean-shaven except for a clean, plaited goatee of red on his chin.

His left eye dons a facial tattoo, a variation of the Iron Wolf totem, its jaws wrapping around his eye socket.

Inscribed around his thick, bullish neck are Fenrisian runes that read, to those who know how, Iron Within, Iron Without, Indomitable Redoubt.

His left arm is a a utilitarian yet artistically wrought work of bionics; the colour of gunmetal, a matte sheen like oil slicked across water. The faint traceries of engravings of the lightning streaked skies, stormy oceans and ice floes of Fenris worked across its surface, the foamy waves worked into the silently howling heads of wolves, can be barely seen under the chamber's luminescent glow-orbs.

A fist-sized pendant of bone lies hung by an adamantine chain fashioned in the shape of prayer beads. Carved exactingly from the tooth of a Fenrisian Kraken into the Cog of the Mechanicus with an Iron Wolf skull at its heart and engraved with minute skulls in sectioned inlays, it glows with a faint bluish cast, projecting a chilly yet calming aura.

A wolf pelt the colour of freshly fallen snow, dusted with granite-like grey, and of unimaginable size girds his waist like large kilt, its legs dangling down and covering his thighs, claws curved downwards across his knees. Its noble head, its eyes still seemingly agleam with life, rests between the legs, teeth bared in a deadly rictus grin.

A ghost of a grin plays across his face, somewhat at odds with his martial bearing, showing off a legacy of his forbears, the elongated canines of the Space Wolf.

A true warrior, an accomplished hunter and a forge-master of Fenris. And, now, a member of the Deathwatch, waiting patiently to prove his mettle and deadly worth yet again.

Demeanor: A man proud of his skills and abilities, undaunted by the universe at large, Geiarsson possesses a calculative, highly analytical mind. Constantly assessing nearly everything around him, his creative mind shuffles and files away details for another time and possible use. Some joke that he is infected by a form of memno-virus, but it is mind that not only helps him hunt but to craft and forge, sorting through all the sensory and mental input plus stimuli to achieve his goals.

Like most Wolves, he is honest to a fault, but is tempered by a sense of tact that usually prevents others from being offended. He also does not possess the typical animosity towards Astartes of the Dark Angels and their ilk. Friendly, talkative and a good listening ear, especially over the odd tankard of Fenrisian ale, Geiarsson is a likable and respectable warrior-priest of the Adeptus Astartes and an unusual representative of the Space Wolves.

Optional: Geiarsson possesses a Data-Slate whose body was carved from the bones of a Kraken and Fenrisian Wolf into the cunning design of a puzzlebox which must be unlocked to view the screen. It's inner workings are interlocked, sophisticated systems of recording, relaying, transmitting and receiving all forms of data, with massive storage banks done in nano-detail, with a large touch-screen that can project flat, 2-D images to full holographic videos. It also posseses a port for electro-graft connections. This Data-Slate, for now known affectionately as the Bonebox, may sometimes be carried into battle under his wolf pelt, chained and maglocked to his armoured belt.

DW Geiarsson (Edit)

... clad in black and smeared with blood.

Saturday, March 22, 2014

>>> When you're in a jam...

Black Ops Campaign
Character Idea

United Nations Special Operations Command - Omega Special Service
UNSOC-OSS

Personnel Dossier
PDF-S-FR-082D-31-8084055W
Classified: Top Secret

Djamel "Jammer" Charron
Sergent Chef
Recce Specialist
Parachutist/Armoured Cavalry
French Foreign Legion

Born in December 1982 of mixed heritage, the war orphan Djamel - or Jam to his friends - grew up mostly in Nice, France with Franco-American parents & siblings, though his adoptive family travelled substantially. Due to studying in an International School, he was influenced at an early age by American hip-hop and the British alternative scene. He also picked up a smattering of languages due to his circle of friends. He has a fondness for extreme sports, basketball, breakdancing, tattoos (he sports many on his body, including two full arm sleeves and Legion emblems along the right side of his neck) and very loud music. He possesses above-average creative talent and good physical co-ordination.

Djamel is an ever cheerful and encouraging individual, prone to behaving like a big brother to many. On duty, he is serious and cautious but is said to enjoy his assignment. At the age of 19, following the tragic deaths of his adoptive parents, Djamel dropped out of university and enlisted with the French Foreign Legion to, I quote, "to escape the Dark".

However, after his first tour, he applied for and gained admission to a correspondence degree program with a speciality in military history.

The Legion became a surrogate family, although he has kept in contact with his adoptive siblings, especially his younger sister Jean-Marie.

He has served four 3-year tours with the French Foreign Legion. He is a trained parachute trooper, but his talents were discovered to lie behind the [driving] wheel. After six years (two tours) with the 2e REP, he was transferred to the 1e REC to utilise his newly discovered talent. The rest of his subsequent service was then consequently spent in the recce company of the Legion's armoured battalion. Considered a veteran and a "lifer" (pegged for lifelong service), he has served well in many theaters, including Afghanistan as part of the Coalition's Peacekeeper Corps.

Djamel comes highly recommended to the OSS by several of our "talent agents". It is advised that Djamel be recruited to serve dual duties as both a scout (infiltrator) and skilled driver (wheelman) with his unique skill set and experience.

 -
Theodore McHallens
Captain
Recruitment Officer

... and need to get out quick.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

>>> Crossbones Squadron /02...


SORTIE:02

Morose and cholic
The void freezes the blood cold
Bitter war blossoms.

Zetsubou
Wolfhound-class prototype Mech-Armour
<< in communication with >>
Conference Room
USNS Haephaestus
Forge-
class patrol carrier
Asteroid Belt, Sector Delta-Whiskey
Avril 21st, 2213
0635 hours Shipboard Time [SBT]

“You. Are. Completely. MAD!

“I did warn you, Ice,” came the reply as he exhaled a gust of smoke. It swirled and faded as the recycling filters silently kicked in. “A week's notice, actually. It went pretty alright, all things considered.”

“I'm not one of your pilots any more, Commander,” snapped Antione. “And you could've been killed and your Mech – which is more valuable than you, I might add - turned into so much scrap. Damn it, Smoke, we were using live rounds for everything.

“Blah-blah-blah. Then write me up and put me on charges, Ice. It's not like they'll take me away to rot on Charon or Uranus. I'd choose Charon, though, heard Uranus frackin' stinks. ”

He shrugged as a conference chair flew at the screen and bounced off the ceiling, clattering loudly to the floor. More smoke was exhaled as he scratched at his forehead under his rolled up balaclava. How on earth did she manage that? Those things are bolted to the deck! He leaned back in his seat, poker-faced, as the XO Antione stood quivering with fists clenched and glaring at him through the screen.

“Commander, could you please take this seriously?”

The quiet tones of the Captain Theorés Rafael Harlington broke the deadlock between Antione and Smoke. Smoke shifted his attention and addressed the captain.

“Sir. I am.”

“Explain yourself then, Commander.”

“Aye, Sir. The ship's crew needs to be drilled and tested. Ice has handled the drill and practice, but they've had no test. Loading dummy rounds and sensors will give the crew warning which then defeats the purpose of a test as well as, more importantly, leaving us momentarily defenceless in the case of a sudden assault by hostiles. We're still in contested territory. Sir.”

The captain nodded slightly, a finger tracing the line of his moustache. Smoke had couched his answer in understated, political correct speech for the benefit of the recording devices. He's learning, that's good, thought the captain.

“But still, Commander, it was a reckless move. You endangered your life and the sanctity of your machine.”

“Acceptable risk, Sir.”

“You are not just a pilot any more, Smoke. You lead the entire squadron,” interjected Antione in admonishment. The captain sighed.

“Well aware of that, Ice. Contingency plan was for you or Panzer to take over until a replacement can be found. IF I died, that is.”

“Oh, so you thought of everything, did you?”

The captain pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. If he wasn't already sitting in a chair, he would've sat down on the floor. Mother did tell me that there'd be days like this. He sighed again.

“Well, I do try to cover all the bases.”

“Well, COVER THIS!”

Another conference chair flew through the air, right through the holographic screen and crashed against a wall. Smoke didn't even flinch, instead just raising an eyebrow. She is well and truly pissed off, I'm lucky that I ain't there. And seriously, though, how the hell is she throwing those chairs?

“This ship and its crew needs you and your machine in one piece. Your squadron needs you. You can't keep risking your life recklessly and without a thought or care, damn it!”

Antione was screaming, fists balled so tight that the knuckles were going white. Her nails bit into her palm, breaking the skin. Smoke and the captain sat quietly as she raged, berating Smoke. Finally, almost spent, she asked in a hoarse voice, “Smoke, for frack's sake, why do you keep doing things like this, constantly throwing yourself in harm's way?”

Smoke replied laconicallly, almost inaudible, “Because I'm a combat pilot... and I've been living on borrowed time for far too long.”

Smoke cut the connection before either his captain or XO could reply, switching back to First-Person-Flying as the VR-HUD plates of his helmet extended once again to encase his face.

“For far too long while good people die all around me,” he said, his voice filled with morose and melancholy.

Quickly typing a short flight order, he beamed it back to the Haephaestus. He exhaled slowly, flicking his cigarette stub away, and rolled his head around his shoulders, hearing a satisfying crick. Firing his thrusters, he rocketed up and over the asteroid whose surface he'd been cruising across.

In the zero-gravity of his cockpit, the stub of his cigarette tumbled in place.

---

Ground Crew Offices
USNS Haephaestus
Forge-class patrol carrier
0640 hours Shipboard Time [SBT]

The dark-skinned redhead flicked the remote's buttons, rewinding the holo-video of Smoke's flight through the gauntlet of the Haephaestus' defense batteries. Her mouth was pressed tightly together as she watched the replay.

She flicked another button, pausing the video. Manipulating the little joystick on the remote, she zoomed in closer for a view of Smoke's Mech. Her mouth moved silently as she noticed the crystallised shards trailing behind the machine.

Zooming further in and adjusting the resolution, she saw the minute fractures and fissures that were spread like multiple latticed webs throughout the lower right leg, lost amongst the furrows dug by flak. And the dark colour of the fluids that were slowly leaking through and crystallising in the vacuum.

Xell flung the remote as she ran out the door, screaming for Panzer.

---

Bridge, The Johannes Run
Mule-class cargo hauler
Jovian Coreward Trade Run
Asteroid Belt, Sector Delta-Whiskey
0644 hours Shipboard Time [SBT]

The crew clung onto their seats and consoles as the ship shuddered, the tortured groans of the ship's hull filling their ears.

“She honestly can't take much more of this, Cap'n!”

“Terribly cliched, Mister Fisk, terribly cliched,” came the calm, cold reply.

“Even so, Cap'n, even so, it's the still the fracking truth!”

A shrill shriek and the smell of singed meat filled the bridge until the ventilators kicked in and cycled the air. “Now, remember what I've said about propriety, Mister Fisk. I will not have any foul mouths aboard this vessel.”

The rest of the bridge crew stared at the smoking form of Fisk, the damage control officer. The electroshock had burned him badly, cooking his skin from underneath as the spike had buried itself an inch under his skin before it triggered. But he was still alive. Barely. A crewman quickly carried him off the bridge, while another rushed to take his place.

“Except my bloody own, of course.”

It was a strange moment, the battle raging outside overshadowed by the act of cruel 'discipline'. Time crawled to a halt. The trembling and shuddering of the ship went unnoticed in . Armillo Thrann, captain of the Johannes Run, smiled coldly and steepled his fingers together. He sank deeper into his plush throne in the center of the bridge. His eyes washed slowly over the comely communications officer.

“Miss Emett, please do tell me that someone has responded to our distress transmission.”

The petite redhead at the communications station swallowed, a cold knot of fear tightening in her stomach. Her mouth was dry and she could barely speak. She spat out in a squeak, “No, captain, not at this time!”

She clutched the sides of her station as the ship shuddered violently and listed to the port. Several of the bridge crew fell out of their seats while a few clung white-knuckled to their stations.

Armillo breathed out noisily, his frustration evident on his face as his fingers dug into the arms of his throne.

“This is rather trying for business.”

---

Port Cargo Module
The Johannes Run
Mule-class cargo hauler
Jovian Coreward Trade Run
Asteroid Belt, Sector Delta-Whiskey

“Godddamm-URRRGH!”

Flight Officer Zenna Marsalas cried out in pain as she was sent crashing into a stack of plasticrates by the latest violent shudder as the Johannes Run fired its manoeuvre thrusters wildly. She pushed herself up, coughing and gasping for breath.

She shook her head and swore when she got her breath back. She looked up and saw her ground crew strewn across the hold like broken dolls. All of them wore their combat EVA suits, prepared for decompression in case of a hull breach. The ship's artificial gravity was still active and the hold was still pressurised, contrary to combat regulations.

These factors were not doing the suited up spacers any favours.

In the momentary calm of the straining ship, they scrambled for handholds, anything that would keep them upright.

Zenna had just wrapped her hand around a cargo restraint when the ship lurched again, sending one of her ground crew careening into her. Both of them went down in a heap, her arm pulled and stretched agonisingly at the socket.

Blinking back tears, she cursed and swore.

---

Starboard Cargo Module
The Johannes Run
Mule-class cargo hauler
Jovian Coreward Trade Run
Asteroid Belt, Sector Delta-Whiskey

More cursing and swearing was being conducted in the opposite hold.

Valkyrie Flight's ground crew were scrambling for handholds and cover as its three pilots watched on from their cockpits. They'd been unpacking and assembling their Mechs just before the ship's erratic manoeuvring had begun. The ground crew had been working feverishly to certify the Mechs fit for operation.

But unless the ship's captain de-pressurised the hold, they were stuck.

They were just spectators.

And inaction didn't sit well with them.

---

... being the second chapter.

>>> Crossbones Squadron /01...


SORTIE:01

Burning always burning
Molten sphere of rage within
Waiting explosion.

Crew Quarters, USNS Hepahestus
Forge-class patrol carrier
Asteroid Belt, Sector Delta-Whiskey
Avril 21st, 2213
0630 hours Shipboard Time [SBT]

Smoke cursed aloud as his head smashed into the top of his bunk. Clutching his aching head, he took in the collection of memorabilia affixed to the walls and ceiling.

And the slumped, sleeping forms of his mostly female ground crew in various stages of undress, some still clutching their poker hands. Must’ve been quite a party, he thought.

Too bad I don’t remember any of it.

He scanned the cabin for the cause of his current headache. His eyes narrowed to slits as he found it.

He threw a pillow at the shrilly beeping 21st century alarm clock, only accomplishing a muffled trill.

He sighed heavily.

Gently removing the tattooed arm that was draped across his hips, he swung out of his bunk. “Sorry, Xell, I’ll see you when I get back,” he whispered as he bent and kissed the redhead softly on her forehead.

Stretching, he muttered, “Damn.”

He grabbed his flight suit off of a rail and slipped out, quiet as a ghost. As the hatch slid shut with a soft hiss, the pillow flopped to the floor.

The alarm wailed out anew.

- - -

He flicked his smoldering cigarette and watched it tumble through the zero-gee of the hangar module. Smiling thinly, he slipped his skull-and-crossbones emblazoned balaclava over his head.

He kicked off the floor and floated upwards towards his Mech’s cockpit. He put out his right arm as he neared the opened hatch. He gripped the edge of the hatch and swung himself in, twisting to face the other way as he landed in the seat.

He donned his helmet as the hatches sealed. Screens and gauges came to life as he flipped the switches, bringing his machine to life. His helmet hissed softly as the side- and top-plates slid out, covering his face as the holo-projectors lit up, creating a VR Heads-Up Display.

His right eye flared blue as the cybernetic combat system built into his optics activated, revealing the ‘V’ shaped optical slit.

<<PLEASE ENTER VOCAL AUTHORIZATION CODES>>, scrolled the letters across his HUD screen.

“Kakurenbo,” he whispered, softly. “Victor-Yankee-Kilo-Niner-Niner-Three-Romeo, Lieutenant Commander Vinzent Azraleodias-Dubois, callsign Smokescreen.”

<<ACKNOWLEDGED, COMMANDER, WELCOME ABOARD>>

“Good to be aboard, buddy,” he said into the empty air, sinking into the well padded seat.

A faint ping and violet glow announced the appearance of a feminine face with flowing hair framed in the top right corner of his screen. Smoke stifled a groan. Of his two AIs, this was the one that had the better ability to 'read' him.

Of course, considering that we’d based her off my dead fiancée, why shouldn’t she be able to</i>, he thought with a pang. Yet he quipped, “Ho, Valkyrie of my Heart, how goes the electronic life?”

“Save the charm, you horrible boy,” came back the sultry voice of his AI. “You’ve barely slept and it’s obvious you’re not in a good mood. Couldn't you have traded your flight with someone else?”

He laughed, a soft chuckle. “I can't do that, now can I, Vyky? Have to be a proper role model and show a good example. So, how’s the old boy?”

“The old boy, as you put it, is fine. All systems green and weapons loaded. Ready whenever you are, Commander.”

“Thanks, Vyky,” he replied with a cheeky smile behind his mask. “Somebody's going to hate me in the morning.”

Vyky looked horrified, “Commander! You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, wouldn’t I?”

- - -

Bridge, USNS Hepahestus
Forge-class patrol carrier

“Sir, I’m registering a sudden decompression in hangar module 1, pod 5.”

The XO, Antione Jazareth, turned around sharply and asked, dreading the answer, “Whose machine is in that hangar?”

“Commander Dubois’, sir,” answered Ensign Pomela Andretti, a Venusian volunteer assigned to the bridge crew. Which had been in spite of her protests, Antione noted inwardly with a grimace. “Bulkheads are sealed, logs indicate 10 minutes before the event of decompression. Detecting and reading IFF now, sir, the Commander is in flight and, erm, oh, dear.”

“What is it, Ensign?”

“He, er, erm, he seems to be heading straight for us, sir. Err, directly at the bridge, sir,” came the nervous reply. Several of the bridge crew exchanged puzzled looks.

The XO held her face in her palm, frustration radiating off her in waves.

“What the frack is he doing!?”

- - -

Zetsubou
Wolfhound-class prototype Mech-Armour

You are the machine, and the machine is you.

A shiver ran down his spine as the thought ran through his mind, the voice of his old flight instructor ringing clearly through his head. He blinked and shook his head.

He sped through space, skimming barely inches above the hull, his fingers drawing sparks as they brushed against the armor plating. He felt a tingle in the tips of his meat fingers.

Meat is weak. Steel is strength. Draw strength from the Steel into your Meat.

In his head, his flight instructor, an 'ancient' of the fabled Steeled Fists’ squadrons of Earth, droned on. Fine, fine, old man. And now I’m almost half Steel, so I hope that you’re bloody happy, his inner thoughts snapped at the recalled words.

As he gazed ahead through his electronic eyes, he saw the bridge beginning to retract into the hull.

He threw his throttle open as he rolled left, his thrusters flaring. He accelerated, head up and looking straight, closing the distance as the bridge seemed to speed up its descent. He twitched a finger, and an audio track, a rousing mesh of 19th century classical and 20th century heavy metal, roared out into the air of his cockpit. His two AIs looked on with frowns.

He grinned behind his mask, the skin-hugging cloth stretching slightly.

Lookie, lookie, the Big Bad Wolf's come out to play, kiddies.

- - -

Bridge, USNS Hepahestus
Forge-class patrol carrier

Antione stood in the middle of the bridge, quivering with her anger and balled, white-knuckled fists. She spat a curse as she realized that the bridge would not be fully retracted in time.

“Comms, get that maniac on the horn. And someone wake up the Captain now. Engineering, can you please speed up the bridge's descent,” she barked. “Tactical, what exactly is he playing at?”

“I believe he's playing a rather dangerous game of tag, my dear XO.”

She spun around and found herself staring at the chest of the ship's captain and standing way too close to him for her own comfort. She held back a surprised gasp and stepped back quickly, snapping off a salute. How had he got on the bridge with no one knowing!?

“Sir, I,” she began, and floundered as the captain waved her off in a dismissive manner.

“Do what you must, Anti, I'm just here to observe.”

Lips pressed thin, she turned back to Tactical and gave her orders. The crew went to work after a second's pause, their training kicking in despite any misgivings that they harboured. Their movements and actions were quick and efficient. Antione looked on with pride and then turned her attention to the view-screen that displayed the recalcitrant Mech.

She stood ramrod straight with a fingertip to her lips as she murmured, “If you want to play, you daft idiot, I can play right back.”

- - -

Zetsubou
Wolfhound-class prototype Mech-Armour

The bright lances of lasers and the tracer trails of solid projectiles crossed space, weapon turrets tracking the swiftly moving Mech.

Ignoring the comms alerts and proximity warnings, he concentrated on slipping through the fields of withering fire. He'd had already weathered the initial wave of weapons fire, shrapnel having left furrows in his lower legs. “Score one for the Home Team,” he thought out loud. “But I only need to score once.”

His eyes narrowed to slits, the glow of his artificial eye brightening. He danced his machine across the void, spinning, flipping and somersaulting but maintaining his forward trajectory.

Turrets swung round, muzzles spitting death. He zagged left, then rolled up and over, coming down in a loop from another track that led in from the bridge's starboard side. A battery of missiles fired, their payload rushing towards him with corkscrew contrails. He spun sideways, feinting a dive and then pulled up hard, accelerating. He swung round in a shallow fish-hook, spinning and rolling as the missiles gave chase. His eyes swept his HUD, small reticles appearing over the approaching swarm.

“Aw, crap. I should never have suggested that Seeker payload as a defensive measure!”

The swarm drove into him, the explosions lighting up the void.

- - -

Bridge, USNS Hepahestus
Forge-class patrol carrier

Some of the bridge crew gasped, not completely comprehending the . An ensign stood up from his station, hands planted on his console with disbelief on his face. He opened his mouth to speak.

“Status report!” barked Antione, cutting off the ensign.

“N-no trace of IFF, sir,” replied Pomela, shaken by the event. “But the Seekers' explosions may be interfering with the scan of that sub-section of space, sir.”

“Visual. I need a visual!”

“Lenses are still blinded by the Seekers' mass detonation, sir, they're compensating. Compliance in under thirty seconds,” came the reply from Tactical.

“Goddammit, someone get me a visual confirmation of the kill! Can we run weapon-cam playback?”

“Working on it, sir, running through the vidfeeds now.”

Antione held her arms crossed in front of her chest, solemn and serious. She stared at the armoured shutters of the bridge.

“Wind back the shutters, lads, but continue the bridge's descent.”

Antione glanced askance at the Captain. “Sir?”

“Old school method visual confirmation, my dear, we do it by eyeball,” said the Captain, holding up a pair of ancient binoculars. Must have be one of those presents that that idiot found on one of his 'treasure hunting' trips, thought Antione with a touch of irritation.

She spun around when she heard a gasp rise from the bridge crew. The rescinding shutters revealed a massive dissipating cloud of dissipating smoke.

Which in turn revealed glimpses of a pair of glowing optics set in a scorched and blistered stylized wolf's head. With the smoke wafting off it, it truly looked like a monster out of a fairy tale. The bridge went still as a grave, the crew almost glued in place, some halfway out of their seats.

Then, suddenly, a metal finger flicked out and tapped the viewport, a bell-like sound ringing softly through the bridge.

The comms system pinged once and the speakers spoke.

Tag, you're It.

---

... being the first chapter.

>>> Crossbones Squadron /00...


SORTIE:00

Through brightest nightmares
Escape from reality
Within darkest dreams.

Dripping with sweat and blood trickling down his face, he opened his remaining eye.

Through his cracked visor, he looked out at the cockpit.

His cockpit.

It was bathed in the crimson glow of warning lights. Alarm klaxons wailed, viewscreens crackled with static and frantic comms-net traffic competed for his attention. And yet, above the chaotic din, he heard the sibilant hiss of leaking atmosphere.

He sighed and looked down at the simple two-dee picprint of his fiancee affixed to his dashboard by a piece of chewed gum. The ghostly echo of her last words rang in his ears. He plucked it from its place and gazed at the woman he had loved through tearing eyes.

Then, surrealistically, the picprint began to fragment and dissolve. He blinked and his fingers held nothing, the last fragments winking out of existence.

As the collision proximity alarm shrieked, his eye snapped up to his last operating viewscreen. The bulk of an escort carrier filled the screen, details becoming larger as the seconds passed.

His target.

He sprang into action, juking and jinking his already battered Mech as the escort carrier's point defenses opened up, solid projectiles and laserbeams crisscrossing space, slashing up towards him.

A laserbeam sheared off his Mech's left leg. Solid shot peppered his mecha's frame, gouging and shattering armour plating. The reactor was pierced by shrapnel, venting atmosphere and reaction mass like a glittering cloak of stardust.

The operating systems shut down, his last viewscreen winked out, his life support faded with the hum of the 'cyclers and his flight controls froze.

Trapped by momentum and inertia, his Mech was locked in a fatal, suicidal dive towards the carrier.

Gripping the useless controls, he shut his eye with a scream on his lips.

---

... being a prologue of sorts.