The recovered Union printer techs and soldiers have been moved to the hostage rescue operation’s staging area, where they’re receiving medical care and a first round of debriefings.
And in one of Wake’s more industrialized areas, the impeccably-groomed Diamond Matthews, spokesperson for Ashfall, hurls her datapad at one of her assistants as Union’s counterpropaganda begins turning the tide of public opinion.
And in a richly-appointed office, Arnoldo Carno, the elected coordinator of the Tu’rosan Cooperative Network, icily flays an unseen person at the other end of a vidcall link regarding the ongoing insurgent action. “While you’re preaching about turning their technology into weapons,” he hisses, “Union is turning their technology into schools. Hospitals. Opportunities. You think they’re weak, that they’re here to take our livelihoods? Do you know how many printers they have? If they wanted, they could flood our streets with munitions. What you see as weakness is them showing restraint.”
And on the edge of the inland sea against which Lake nestles, two Everest-class frames, unseen by misdirected observers and hacked sensors, disappear under the water.
In Wake’s insurgent-occupied spaceport, a squad from the 501st Exploratory Guard’s recon platoon is in place under EMCON and broad-spectrum passive camouflage. They have a lot to report – but no one to whom they can report. Yet.
The platoon commander (not that this is a job for a commissioned officer, but he wasn’t going to miss the chance for a combat action ribbon at this stage of his career) flips open his datapad as his earpiece chirps to indicate an incoming data burst. His eyebrows go up as he decrypts and unpacks it. “Hey, listen up. Good news. The lancers got Park’s team out. No casualties. Well, no friendly casualties,” he amends.
One of his troopers snorts. “Brant’s squad didn’t fuck up the op for them?”
“Apparently not. The tangos didn’t bring their A-game, though. Field interrogation says they were mostly miners who got pulled in by boredom and propaganda. No true believers, no one willing to die for the cause.”
“That doesn’t look like what we’re seeing here,” the squad leader comments. “Especially whatever that ghost signature by the printer is. Though these guys still aren’t as competent as they could be.”
“Walk me through that, sar’nt.”
The sergeant eyes his CO, sensing a test. “Well, sir, they’re not expanding their infrastructure. Everything we can identify coming off that printer is frames, infantry kit, or ordnance. It’s like they don’t know a printer can produce another printer. But that ghost sure as hell suggests they’re capable of that.”
“‘s’what I was thinking.” The lieutenant nods. “Check everyone’s paracausal countermeasures, sar’nt. Go to ten-minute observer rotations. And keep your copy of our report packet up to date.”
A brisk offshore wind riffles the lagoon by the spaceport. Two ESM masts breaking the surface are lost in the waves and spray. A coded pulse goes out. The recon lieutenant catches his squad leader’s eye, gets a confirming nod, and fires off the compressed packet of the team’s observations.
Aboard Mobius and Dyrnwyn, data unscrolls:
Several of what the lancers now know as Axeman-class frames are patrolling the area of the hijacked printer. Around the printer area, there’s a fair amount of activity as supplies come off the platform and are moved out. Half the output is going to container stacks west of the printer, while the other half is flowing into a ship on the adjacent pad.
One frame of a different type is standing guard next to the printer. Its appearance is more biomechanical, and it’s actively scanning. Its primary armament appears to be a sword wreathed in dimensional distortion effects. The recon team’s passive sensors can’t lock down much more than that, but this frame isn’t emitting the radiation leakage that’s accompanied others.
There’s also a ripple in space in the unidentified frame’s vicinity. Any attempt to observe it inflicts headaches and what the troopers are describing as “mental pressure.”
EDITOR:> Someone Else's Problem field.
ECHO:> Paracausal something, yes.
JANUS:> Update from Ambassador Storch. Arnoldo reports ongoing negotiations with the insurgents. He is trying to get them to stand down.
EDITOR:> Are we in mission hold?
JANUS indicates null data >
ECHO:> Arnoldo has a rep as a straight shooter, but Ashfall is too new to have credibility for negotiating in good faith.
EDITOR:> That river of ordnance coming off the printer doesn't look like "good faith" to me.
ECHO:> Then we aren't in mission hold. Odd that they moved the prisoners, though, and split their forces to do it.
EDITOR:> Did they want us to recover the prisoners? We know Box was infected/compromised.
JANUS:> Medical screening protocols for hostage recovery should detect any organic or nanotech Trojans. The lack of equivalent protocols for recovered NHPs is an unfortunate oversight, which will be noted in our AAR.
ECHO:> I'm beginning to suspect factionalization. They wanted the goon squad out of the way while the grown-ups attend to the real business.
EDITOR:> That would fit the differences in equipment and the relative motivation levels.
ECHO:> Janus, mission parameters check.
JANUS > Obj 1 / Priority 1 (Ambassador Storch orders): secure printer and output
Obj 2 / Priority 2 (Envoy Yan request): terminate insurgents
JANUS:> For clarity, Envoy Su Yan's requests have been phrased as orders. She does not appear to have a firm grasp of her position in our chain of command.
EDITOR snorts >
ECHO:> Phase advance?
EDITOR concurs >
JANUS concurs >
ECHO:> Janus, tie in the recon team, please.
JANUS:> Stand by... authenticated and on line. GRAVESITE 6, GRAVESITE 2-1, welcome to the net.
GRAVESITE 2-1 acknowledges >
GRAVESITE 6:> Roger. We're still on station.
EDITOR:> Appreciate your work. Updates from last sitrep?
GRAVESITE 6:> Negative, but be advised, TANGO 1 through 4 are still patrolling randomly.
EDITOR:> Copy. I'm flashing you our final phase points.
GRAVESITE 6 acknowledges receipt >
GRAVESITE 2-1 acknowledges receipt >
EDITOR:> Can you provide routing and timing to get us to those without LOS to TANGO elements?
GRAVESITE 6 queries GRAVESITE 2-1 >
GRAVESITE 2-1 thumbs-up >
GRAVESITE 6:> Affirm. You're clear to advance to MARBLE. Hold there for cueing.
The PCs advance into the spaceport. They’re in position to start their assault, but where the Schedule II printer is supposed to be is, instead, a roughly circular construct with some sort of event horizon effect in the center. Material is going in and coming out, much like a printer, but that’s not what it is – at least, to Echo, Editor, and Janus. A query to the recon team confirms they’re still seeing a printer. Echo does some quick perceptual integrity checks and determines that if the PCs are looking at a recording, or something they don’t remember themselves, they perceive it the way everyone else does. Only live viewing (direct or via sensors) gives them the altered perception.
Material coming out of the portal is weirdly amorphous before it solidifies into recognizable forms. It could be reshaping raw potential into tangible matter… or the team could be seeing the physical analog of an NHP shackling process.
There’s one more complication. The abnormal casket that Ikke and Box described in their debrief is affixed to the printer/portal.
ECHO:> Janus, revalidate mission parameters.
JANUS > Obj 1 / Priority 1 (UIB mission brief): containment
Obj 2 / Priority 2 (Ambassador Storch orders): secure printer and output
Obj 3 / Priority 3 (Envoy Yan request): terminate insurgents
EDITOR:> Saw that comin'.
ECHO agrees >
EDITOR:> GRAVESITE, status check.
GRAVESITE 6:> TANGO 3 LOS to ELEGY 2 in 60 seconds.
EDITOR:> Copy. All GRAVESITE elements, good work. Leave passive remotes in place and exfil. ELEGY elements going loud in 30 seconds.
GRAVESITE 6 acknowledges >
GRAVESITE 2-1:> Roger that. Good hunting.
Echo steps Mobius out from cover and ripples out an attack swarm from his heavy nexus. The nearest Axman frame drops from a hundred wasp-sting impacts.
Echo tries to scan the swordsman frame, but it reacts immediately, erupting in ECM. It launches into motion, far faster than it should, and slams its sword into Mobius for instant structural damage.
Both PCs’ sensor feeds indicate that the spatial distortion is now throwing out comms feeds. Any doubt that it’s a frame is resolved, but there are more immediate problems to deal with.
Editor moves up to support Mobius. The swordsman seems to be making itself an easier target for him. His first light nexus attack hits, scoring its armor, but it deflects the second with some sort of reflective spatial distortion. Editor flips his ammo feed selector to high explosive and walks a burst from Dyrnwyn’s assault rifle into the frame, knocking it out of engagement with Janus.
Any advantage is momentary. The swordsman recovers, re-engages Janus, and lands another crushing blow. Structural integrity warnings flash across Echo’s HUD as his hand-built ECM gear vaporizes.
Editor deploys a Pattern-B hex charge in the path of the nearest oncoming Axman, unlimbers Dyrnwyn’s heavy charged blade, and reluctantly closes to melee with the swordsman to try to pull it off of Janus. He gets its attention – too well. It hits him for structural damage and Dyrnwyn’s systems go into hard reset.
Echo uses the reprieve to step back from the melee. He burns through the swordsman’s ECM with a focused scan, locks it up, and sends a heavy nexus swarm into its face.
The oncoming Axman runs full-tilt into the Pattern-B mine, destroying itself and sending a wave of shrapnel crashing into the swordsman. Another Axman diverts from its course toward the melee, circling around the spaceship on the pad and disappearing up its cargo ramp.
Editor recovers and runs the swordsman through with Dywnryn’s blade. As it falls, its sword discorporates into radiation and exotic particles. He spins, guns down the last Axman, and hits Dyrnwyn’s jump jets to land on the spaceship’s bow. A polite tap of an assault rifle muzzle on the canopy convinces the crew to abort their launch checklist.
The invisible frame drops its cloak, revealing a chassis bristling with communications and ELINT gear – and a much deeper spatial distortion. It makes an aggressive attempt to hack Mobius, which Janus repels with ease, then moves into the portal. As it vanishes, it transmits:
¿:> Prime contact has been located. Join with us.
The portal begins to distort and vibrate, collapsing in which might be a controlled shutdown. Echo moves in and deploys Mobius’ creepy T-rex manipulator arms to delicately disentangle the NHP casket from the portal’s support equipment.
JANUS:> the folds, the folds continue, the folds, the folds continue, the folds ECHO:> Fuck. Janus, execute PROTOCOL TANGENT RED. JANUS:> continue, the fol+++ATH0 \\q381 \\jfh** \\exec hifun sever
As it turns out, two Everests engaging their core power are pretty badass in both absolute and action economy terms. I begin to understand what people on /r/Lancer mean about the Everest being the best chassis in the book.
This was a fun combat, but getting structured three for three hits between the two of us was unfun.