Something a little different from my AU timeline - written in the first person for the first time for me so be nice but also critical.
Link to the timeline in my sig
See what you think
After Action report, The Crucible
Sian system, Sian Commonality
Capellan Confederation
25th November 3084
As I opened the outer doors the space around the DropShip was lit up with weapons fire, nearly ten minutes ago the DropShip's commander had announced we were in range my Lancemates and the DropShip's own guns had opened fire on the defenders taking them completely by surprise although the damage done was minimal the surprise factor alone was worth it. The last week drifting through the Sian system, pretending to be a piece of space junk, were finally proven at least this way we had no WarShips breathing down our necks.
All around the DropShip five BattleMechs stood blazing weapons, attached to the hull by magnetic tethers they added to my DropShip's own considerable firepower, few realize just how much I have done to this boat it may look like a perfectly normal Mule but believe that and your a bigger fool than Sun-Tzu Liao, mixed together surprise, armour and weapons they do their jobs well.
The Capellan defenders and their "hidden" aerospace fighters from the moon are nice and distracted by the light show, now it's my turn. "Hunting" I whispered as I lit my suits jet back off, unique among the Inner Sphere and Clans some say it is close to a Nighthawk Power Armour suit used by the SLDF of old and recently put back into production, if only they knew the truth only two people knew the origins of this suit, and the designer's long dead.
Burning the suit's jet back for thirty seconds gave me enough forward motion to head straight for the station, almost no agility without burning more fuel I was almost like a ballistic missile fortunately the station is exactly that stationary going nowhere. Despite my tiny size it was always possible for someone to see the suit and decide to take a pot shot at it or for one of my lancemates to fire into the safe passage in their firing patterns, mistakes happen. But not this time.
Impact!
Hitting the space station was not nice six thousand tons of space station against half a ton armour suit and human being no way I was winning that fight, fortunately the suit's armour cushioned the impact keeping my body in one peice battered but not seriously harmed. Crawling across the station I reached an airlock, for all the secrets kept about the Crucible, its location and defences, the Capellans used standard suppliers for the parts they used to construct it. Pulling the external release the airlock vented and swung open allowing access to the station, just like outside the Emergency Doors secured with a standard switch on the inside too.
Inside the station was boring grey walls nothing to write home about there other than the defenders. The Capellans really didn't want a prisoner revolt or trouble on the station an entire Battalion of Marines stationed there along with the eight hundred odd crew on board. My borrowed Jade Falcon built Mauser IIC Assault Rifle is more than at home here in the micro-gravity than my pistols and while the Capellans are restricted in movement my suit's built in magnetic clamps keep me attached to the deck no-one but my one man assault to get in the way.
Blast!
Blast!
Even with the sealed suit dimming the sound there is nothing quite like a pulse laser rifle going off two green streams of pulse laser fire and two dead Capellans litterally like shooting fish in a barrel, they have nowhere to run and there is little chance of missing. Unfortunately I had little to no knowlege of where the St Ives Colonel was held and a limited ammo supply. Moving down the corridor my armour was hit by some small arms fire which bounced off it without damage, a suit that can take a direct hit from a short range missile had little to worry about with small arms. Turning and two more Mauser blasts cut down another of the Capellans fortunately for me and unfortunately for the Capellan defenders the high ranked leaders of the Confederation didn't think The Crucible rated Battle Armour defenders too far from a front line to care about, not really a military target.
Knowing the Capellans would have some sort of directory I located one of their security desks right in the middle of the deck, a flash grenade from the Mauser's under slung barrel followed by several pulse blasts cut down the six defenders inside the room allowing easy access. For a secure facility the Capellan's computers were relitively easy to hack, again they had counted on the station's location and mystery to protect it, never a good idea. After less than three minutes hooked up to it I'd identified three possible rooms with my target each marked "ST IVES VIP" could the Capellans be more obvious, I'd almost like to thank the jailers. Unfortunately all three were three decks below, I hate lifts always have they work fine until someone tries to turn them into a moving cell - or worse, so that meant access shafts being chased by Capellan marines would be no fun.
A distraction was needed and fast so using some of Dean's slicing programs I tricked the computer into thinking cell one was on fire, first alarms blared out followed by fire suppressant foam fortunately this couldn't activate without releasing the prisoner giving the Capellans a new problem. Great thing about fire, once a computer thinks you have one it's easy to create two or more. Suddenly the entire deck was lit up light a christmas tree with twenty prisoners breaking out of their cells and suppressent foam activating all over the place, some distractions are really fun to watch prisoners finally finding the chance of freedom, guards panicing under pressure and the carnage that follows, unfortunately I had no time for fun instead ran down the corridor and disappeared into an access ladder.
Moving down decks in the zero gravity was easy and almost completely silent so when I lept out of the shaft the unobservant Capellan guard on level six had almost no chance of resistance twisting quickly his neck gave way under my suit's enhanced strength and the lifeless body drifted away. Moving through the level I easily gunned down three more defenders before repeating my move in another security office. The Capellans when designing this station had decided that one design fits all, give the station a universal feel to really unnerve the prisoners make for easy construction and easy design.
As before from the security officer create fire - check, pop doors - check, fire suppressent - check all equalling carngage. Popping all the cell doors except one which I time delayed for twelve seconds. Moving down the corridor I gunned down a guard who was grappling with one of the prisoners, the prisoner not someone I cared about took a laser blast to the side it didn't kill him but left the man in agony and out of my way. Just as I reached the door the time release fire broke out and the door popped open "Sao Feng?" I asked the startled man who simply nodded "your lucky day" I said tossing him an EVA suit. Turning around I gunned down another incoming guard "quickly." Finally we moved back down the corridor into an airlock "done an EVA recently? This won't be like it." I said flipping the emergency release button, the airlock blew outwards sucking us and the air out into space we were on the same side as my enterance point and I could see the DropShip still hanging in space two of my lancemates Mechs were missing either retreated inside for damage or dead. Blasting my thrusters for a second time my suit was propelled through space back towards the DropShip with Sao Feng's EVA suit pulled along. "Homeplate, I'm incoming." Was all the chatter I chanced last thing we needed was the Capellans getting clever, tracking me down and trying to shoot me now. The DropShip thrusters fired breifly moving the ship to port slightly lining up with my tragectory some how it always knew where this suit was and vice versa over the years the two pieces of technology had developed an afinity for each other, none of my techs can account for it but they alway track each other down through ECM, Stealth you name it you have one you'll find the other, if one needs to link up with the other the course inputs almost on its own never once has it been wrong, the tech wants to fix it keeps saying it will lead us down a rotten path but you know that old saying "if it ain't broke... well I'm sticking by it a while longer. Drifting ballistic through space my suit and the dragged along Sao Feng flew straight into the open hatch I'd left straight into a cargo net which broke the impact to almost nothing. "Aboard and Away" I commanded moments later the DropShip was under power heading back out of the system towards the JumpShip left in dead space outside the system, the WarShip grade ECM suite aboard the DropShip allowing us to disappear into the system's background radiation and away.
Some jobs are tough, some are fun others you never forget, the Crucible... all three and a little extra on the side.
End Log
BH
Hope you enjoy!!
