Vientiane Central Government Complex
Purvo, Capellan Confederation
4th January, 3050
Ken wondered if he had over-dressed. Smoothing the kilt he had received on his native Sarna, he stepped smartly into the complex’s lobby. The dao that hung on his hip rattled with each step. Presenting himself for inspection made his nerves rattle in kind.
A few of the Gatekeepers had been called to receive their orders: Stoneblade, Gunshow, Shotokan, and Syndrome waited in the lobby of the ornate building with Ken in anticipation of the Zhong-Shao’s arrival. At least, they were patient on the whole, failing lapses in which the MechWarriors would get caught up in a loud moment of bravado while waiting. Hey, they were told to meet here - not to meet here quietly.
The quartet of pilots hushed quickly altogether when Zvolimir entered the lobby. Once he had joined the four who had been waiting for him he began, “I’m sure you are all wondering why we are gathered here. We will be deploying a mission to Homestead in the coming days. The brass is hoping to expand our unit’s aegis to include planets within a 30 light-year distance, in an attempt to steel the Confederation’s borders against Davion attack.”
“Once on Homestead, be aware.” Zvolimir continued, “We have received word that the planet is currently being beset by continued pirate raids, capitalizing especially on the densely forested terrain on the main continent of Penh. The forest is thick, so keep your eyes peeled. As such our plan is to be disembarking from the Jumpship immediately. We will be anticipating heavy resistance after we drop to the planet, and will be coming in hot.”
“...and we’re at Central because…” Shotokan responded, letting the last word hang in the air to indicate his desire for a response from Zvolimir.
“The Governor Lin would like us to submit ourselves for an inspection before we embark, the usual rigamarole the planetary Brass likes to go through when working with a standalone company like ourselves,” He said, taking the fringe status of the unit as a point of pride. As he and Stoneblade began their way towards the usually indignant receptionist, they were surprised to find her happily chatting to Ken. As they approached the desk the girl blushed, and slipped Ken some paper, waving up the stairs. “The Governor is waiting for you.”
"You catch more flies with sugar," Ken gave his usual grin and said to the others as he stepped away from the desk, responding to their incredulous looks. Tucking the paper into his sporran, he he shot the receptionist a wink. The group started up the lavish staircase to the Governor’s office, laughing a bit at Ken.
The jaunt up the stairs was a further exercise in the garishness of the bureaucracy. Beautiful marble handrails, inlaid with gold and jade wound its way up to the second level astride stairs with an extravagant red carpet. Looking about, Ken clucked his tongue once--a mixed expression of his awe for the craftsmanship and disdain for the excess.
Upon entering the Governor’s lavish office suite, the Zhong-Shao’s teeth clenched. Oh how he hated this man, with his over-inflated sense of self. The pissant. “Here is the battle-readiness report you requested, Governor,” Zvolimir spat the last word, more than a little unsettled at the notion of having to defer at all to this man. The Cháng-Chéng was more than a lapdog for the elite, and definitely not a tool for the bureaucracy.
The Mandarin grinned snidely, throwing a dossier across the desk with a flourish as the large man heading the unit sat down across from him. The Governor Lin started clicking his long fingernails. against the polished surface of the desk before beginning, “Here are the parameters of your mission. I trust your men and their… unorthodox tactics will be able to handle a reconnaissance assignment. You will be assigned to Homestead to assess the Chancellor’s need for more planetary garrison, and quell any Davion or pirate aggression.”
“Understood,” Zvolimir’s eponymous black hand twitched a little at the Governor’s slight with a whirr. In the past months the Gatekeepers had proven themselves time and time again to be a more than capable battalion in defense of Purvo. Despite his understanding of the man’s status, he was hard-pressed to stay his hand at such a comment. “Though your attempts to demoralize your planetary garrison are not going unnoticed, I wonder what Her Celestial Wisdom would think about such insults?” Zvolimir felt the last few months had afforded him the riposte in defense of his men.
The Governor was taken aback by this. The weight of Zvolimir’s words gave the smaller man an obvious start, when the adornments on his over-stuffed hat clicked together as he recoiled. Gunshow could be heard stifling a laugh.
Not wanting to punctuate the statement any further than the silence already had, the Mandarin recovered, “Shi shi, Zhong-Shao, are these the men you will be taking for this mission?”
“Affirmative. Gunshow, Shotokan, Syndrome, and Archangel,” He motioned to each in turn. “I’ll be taking more Command Staff, as well, but you’ve met Stoneblade at his decoration ceremony.”
“Very well, that will be all. For the glory of the Celestial Throne,” The Mandarin waved his long-nailed hand dismissively, trying to save face.
The Gatekeepers present offered a stiff salute in unison, marching out of the suite. Zvolimir grinned in spite of himself as he left.
Jumpship Xìnlài de (信赖的)
Homestead System, Capellan Confederation
10th January, 3050
The jump was always the worst part... by Ken’s reckoning at least. He could deal with the adrenaline fuelled, heart pounding in your ears sensation that came after stepping mechanized foot off the dropship, but the swooning, nauseated, legs-turn-to-jelly feeling that came with a jump was unpleasant to say the least. Looking on the bright side, at least there was only the one jump from Purvo to Homestead. A short trip... relatively. An additional blessing was the ship they were in. The Gatekeepers called her the Xìnlài de —The Reliant.
The Invader Class ship had been obtained months before via the black market in the Draconis Combine. She became a military vessel later during a retrofit, upgrading her to a compact K-F drive. A drive that had been… creatively acquired from Ken's connection on Dieron, who had himself gone through his own less than savory methods of coming by possession of the part. She was refitted with armament more befitting a military vessel, though her starboard PPCs thankfully had never been fired. True to her name: as far as JumpShips went, she was a smooth ride.
After the Jump, the ship's crew spent some time bickering while they deployed the Jump Sail - an occasion the Gatekeepers took to meet on the Grav Deck. Proceeding to their respective DropShips wasn't an option until the Sail had been properly deployed and aligned. Their eyes fixed upon the planetary map on the table, they discussed forces they were expected to encounter. As well as (once again) the resupply problems.
Stoneblade stood at a table on which was projected scans of the drop area. He had been working to prepare the Gatekeepers for the coming mission, and continued on in a booming voice, quieting any chatter between the others.
“As I mentioned, the only forces we are expecting to merit our attention are going to be forward Davion teams gathering intel. You should keep your autocannons, Gauss, and missiles cold against pirates; who we anticipate will be poorly supplied anyway. The Jumpship was only able to carry so many tons of supplies, and we're not exactly expecting the cavalry out here.” With the smaller Invasion-class ship, the Gatekeepers were unable to keep ammo stores well in hand, making energy weapons the order of the day. Keeping this in mind, Ken elected to fall back on his RVN-3L, the autocannon ammunition demanded by, say, his Hunchbacks, or Cataphracts was unworkable out here. Homestead wasn't just the fringe of the Confederation - it was the middle of nowhere, and Ken was nothing if not a pragmatist.
“Dismissed, Men,” Stoneblade finished.
With a salute, Ken turned on his heel and stepped briskly to the DropShip “Sentinel”. The trip would take eight days from the systems’ Jump Point to Homestead. Syndrome’s demeanor was thankfully stoically quiet, so perhaps there would be time to meditate before they dropped onto the planet’s surface.
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