Blood on the Horizon (Reimagined)

Chapter 1
    • MarkWarrior

    MarkWarrior

    Well-known member
    Blood on the Horizon (Reimagined) Chapter 1

    I woke up with a jerk of my head and a gasp as if I were drowning, sucking in air as I opened my eyes to be greeted by steel.

    Shifting, I flailed about, spinning listlessly in a circle until I managed to force a stop inside a corner of the room.

    Weightless, I stopped and gently leaned my head against the wall. “What happened, How did I get here, And Where was I?” These were all questions that I needed to find the answers to.

    Closing my eyes, I tried desperately to recall what I had been doing before I ended up here.

    I had been working, and I remembered saying goodbye to a couple of coworkers before heading into the office to collect my laptop and vest. I remembered sliding everything into my backpack and zipping it up before sliding it on my shoulders and signing out for the day, then waving goodbye to the principal and opening the doors. Then nothing, there was no memory of what happened after that.

    Why couldn’t I remember what happened? I tried to understand how I had ended up here and came up with nothing.

    Alright, deep breaths. I forced myself to breathe and focus on the immediate situation.

    Inhale, hold, one, two, three, and exhale. Inhale again, hold for four seconds this time, then exhale.

    Alright, focus, what do I need to do first?

    First, assess my kit and make sure that I’m not missing anything important.

    My backpack was present, along with my laptop and my chargers, check.

    Armored vest, in the backpack, check.

    Handgun, locked into my belt, check.

    IFAK clipped to the belt as well, check.

    Extra magazines, check.

    Flashlights and other gear, check.

    Cell phone, check.
    Everything that I had on me when I left work was still present. I nodded to myself.

    Second, figure out where you are.

    I was in a room, a very dark room lit only by a small light above a doorway or hatch of some kind.

    Reaching into the cargo pocket of my pants, I pulled out the small flashlight that I kept there and pressed the button on the back once, the beam sputtering before flaring out to reveal the room.

    “You scared me, man,” I laughed a bit, the fear easing in my chest as I saw someone’s back. “Why didn’t you say anything earlier?” I pushed lightly against the wall and began floating closer.

    The man remained there, my flashlight finally revealing the truth.

    “No no no!” I tried to move away, the initial panic gripping my chest as my heart roared in my ears.

    Crashing into the body, I flailed like a madman, driving us apart and sending us in two directions.

    The mummy hit the other wall with a sickening crack, and my stomach dropped at the sound.

    I knew the man was dead and I winced as a part of the mummified corpse floated off out of the flashlight’s beam.

    Calm, deep breaths again, and refocus, panic doesn’t help survival.

    “Oof!” The air rushed out of my lungs as my back hit the opposite wall, my backpack absorbing most of the impact.

    But it slowed me down, and I shone my flashlight around the room to get a better picture of the room.

    There was only one exit, a small cot was in the corner, and there was some sort of computer terminal next to it.

    The floating body had rotated, and I could barely make out what was on the uniform that it was wearing.

    On one side of the uniform, there was a strip of white, with two railroad tracks stitched in, and a lopsided star on the other.

    Bracing myself, I swallowed and closed my eyes as I thought for a moment. What were my options here?

    The body was my best chance of understanding where I was. I stretched my arm out to push away from the wall back toward the body.

    This time, I was ready. I grabbed the mummy and held back nausea as I began going over the uniform, looking for anything that would help me understand.

    There was a small plastic card of some kind in one of the pockets, and some sort of giant wristwatch on the left wrist.

    Ustrapping the watch, I hooked it onto my belt before shining my light on the card.

    “Sorry Captain,” I read the card. “But I don’t think you’ll be needing this anymore,” I slid the card into my pocket before patting the mummy down one last time and pulling out a misshapen star with what looked like a plug on the end of it.

    Allowing the body to float away, I covered my mouth and swallowed back the bile that burned the back of my throat as my skin crawled and the hair on my arms stood up.

    I drifted away from the Captain and began looking around, carefully shifting my weight, I flung an arm out to shift my view toward the door, the motion spinning me slightly and revealing the way to open the hatch.

    My momentum carried me at a snail's pace to the door, but there was little else to do but wait.

    “Always thought zero gravity would be more fun than this,” I sighed and crossed my arms while waiting. “No one ever thought to mention the slow parts.”

    I closed my eyes and waited. I would reach the door eventually, and then I would be able to explore the rest of the ship.

    –
    –

    I opened my eyes and yawned as I stretched, the darkness confusing me. Wasn’t there normally the light from my desk in the corner?

    I shook my head for a minute, clearing the fog. Right, I needed to open the door.

    Clicking the button on my flashlight again, I reached for the door console and shined my light on it once I had a decent grip.

    Stabilized, I took a good look at the control panel. Thankfully it was in English and well-labeled.

    “Thank God for the small blessings,” I said as I pushed the button that said, “Open”.
    The hatch hissed open, revealing a hallway that was as dimly lit as the room that I was in.

    “No, come on!” I tapped the back of my flashlight, the beam steadying out after a few flickers.

    Pulling on the control panel, I grabbed the frame of the hatch and pulled myself into the corridor.

    Shining my light into the darkness, I saw something that sent chills down my spine.

    SLS Manassas was painted onto the wall, the reflective letters bouncing light off and revealing more floating bodies.

    Then my flashlight stuttered before dying one final time, leaving me with nothing but the red of the emergency lights.

    “Work,” I slapped the flashlight again, jiggling the connections enough to cause it to flicker on.

    Flashing the light around while it was working, I began looking for signs that would point me in the right direction, I had an inkling of where I was, but I needed to confirm it.


    “Engine room,” I read out loud, seeing the arrow pointing to my right.

    Using the handhold that was neatly placed on the wall, I pushed off toward the arrow, my flashlight finally dying as I reached out and grabbed ahold of another handle.

    Hooking my leg into the handhold, I unholstered my pistol and unscrewed the weapon light, detaching it from the rail and holding it in my teeth while I holstered the weapon again.

    “Let there be light,” I muttered as I flipped the light on and winced, my eyes hurting from how bright it was at first. “Now, let’s hope that it’s not too difficult to turn the main power on.”

    I pushed off in the direction of the engine room, the hallway straightening out as I floated through and into a much larger space.

    “Holy shit,” I swore as my weapon light caught a reflection of something in the distance, a giant biped strapped down next to a bunch of crates.

    “No,” I shook my head as my thoughts began to spiral. “Focus Mark, survival first.”

    Bracing myself, I spun around and absorbed my impact with my feet, my left knee throbbing as I bent and grabbed another handhold.

    Putting my light back in my teeth, I crawled like Spider-Man from handhold to handhold until I reached another door.

    Crossing my fingers, I opened the door and pulled myself through, my knee still protesting its treatment as I used my legs to push off in the right direction.

    “If there were anyone else here, then this would be the single coolest thing I’d have ever seen,” I said as I looked at the massive fusion reactor that was in front of me. “I certainly hope they left behind an instruction manual. Because I have no idea how to science the shit out of this.”

    Taking my backpack off, I looped the strap through one of the handholds and then tied it to my arm before unzipping it, grabbing the rain jacket out of it, and putting it on for the extra insulation.

    Zipping the bag up, I relaxed my body and closed my eyes while shutting my weapon light off and sliding it into my pocket.

    Inhale, hold, then exhale.

    Inhale, hold, exhale.

    Inhale…
     
    • Chapter 2
    • Chapter 2

    “I’m up,” I woke up to the blaring of the alarm on my phone, the harsh tone kick-starting my brain into gear.

    Reaching into my pocket, I turned off the alarm and let my thumb rest on the surface of my smartphone, a sad smile on my face as I looked at the picture of my wife that secured my phone. A tear floated up from my eye as I stared at it. She had wanted me to delete this picture. She said that it was an awful one. But this picture was my favorite. It captured her, this was my wife when she let her walls down, this was her when she didn’t need to put on a face for others.

    The tears continued as I unlocked the phone and opened my photos, muted sobs coming from me as I saw just how few pictures I had of my family.

    “It’s not enough,” I wept, the tears floating away from me as I buried my head in my hands. “I should have done more,” I muttered as I dried my tears with the sleeve of my shirt.

    The tears now faded, I sniffled and grabbed a napkin out of my backpack to blow my nose.

    “Why me?” I asked, blowing my nose into the napkin. “Why couldn’t you have picked someone else? I have a family, a wife, and two kids that we just adopted. What do I have to offer that no one else did? Huh? I know you can hear me!”

    I floated there, the silence pressing down and making me feel ever so small.

    “I’m not going to die here,” I said after a minute. “This isn’t the end of my story, you hear me?!”

    I swallowed after a minute, choking back even more sobs as reality set in.

    I was alone.

    There was nobody left alive on this ship.

    My family was gone. And I have no way of ever returning to them.

    I felt the anger churn in my gut as I began weeping again, the rage simmering in place as I floated, my fists clenched tightly while drifting through the engine room.

    –
    –



    I held down the volume and lock buttons, and shut down my phone, looking at the picture of my wife one last time before I slid the power off switch and the screen went black.

    Sniffling one last time, I did the same to my watch and slid it off of my wrist before placing both in my backpack.

    Then, taking a deep breath, I stilled myself, centering on what was right in front of me.

    Reaching into my cargo pocket, I pulled out the device I had taken from Cromwell’s wrist and looked it over before placing it where my old watch had once been.

    “Okay,” I breathed. “Let’s hope that Star League tech works as well as advertised because I have no idea how to move on from here.”

    The design was remarkably intuitive, with a small dial and a screen that showed the various menus that you could navigate through. In some ways, it reminded me of a rotary phone, and in others, it actually felt like I was using a first-generation smartwatch.

    Flipping through the device, I finally found something that piqued my interest.

    “Here goes nothing,” I said as I pushed down on the control, a small speaker emitting a bit of static as I did so.

    “This is the automated, step-by-step instructions given for the use of all Star League Naval personnel. While not required, it is highly recommended that you follow these guides. Because even the most experienced personnel can forget something. ”

    “Thank you, Bitchin’ Betty,” I smiled as I began navigating through the various sections, eventually finding one that said ‘refueling’.

    “First, you will need the proper fuel,” Betty stated. “Fuel will always be stored in the properly marked containers and will normally be found in the secondary cargo bay near the engine room.”

    “Alright, back the way we came,” I said as I pushed myself off of a nearby handhold and floated toward the room’s exit, one of the granola bars from my backpack held in my teeth.

    —
    —

    “Specially marked containers, my ass,” I muttered as I floated through the cargo bay, my light shining back and forth as I tried to identify the stored fuel.

    Shining my light back in the direction I had started in, I stopped as something yellow flashed on the edge of my vision, the shining label informing me that it was exactly what I was looking for.

    “Now we’re cooking with gas,” I muttered as I pushed myself toward the container. “One problem,” I looked at the massive container. “I don’t think I’ve the mass to move this thing.”

    “What are my available resources?” I asked out loud as I looked at the container while stroking my beard.

    “Didn’t Betty say something about Engineer suits having thrusters on one of those guides?” I asked as I flipped back through the comms device on my wrist.

    “I can use this,” I smiled as relief set in. “I just need to find an engineer. And pray that we’re close enough in size for this to work.”

    –
    –

    “Okay,” I finished rolling up my clothes and sticking them into the locker where I had found the uniform I was wearing. “Thrusters should have fuel, so let’s see how well they work.”

    I pushed the small control in the gloves and then screamed as I accelerated toward the ceiling, turning off the thruster just in time for me to flip end over end and hit the top of the room.

    “Ow,” I groaned as I let myself relax a bit. “That one hurt.”

    I grabbed at my back and winced at how tight my hamstrings were.

    “Alright, we’ll try it again, just take it slowly this time, Mark,” I said to myself as I reached for the controls again. “Calm, collected easy movement.”

    I touched the control and yelped as I sped off again.

    –
    –

    “Alright,” I looked at the fuel container again. “Let’s get you moving in the right direction.”

    Grabbing on, I held it tightly as I triggered the thrusters, pushing us both toward the door that led to the engine room.

    “Take it slow and steady, we don’t need to get in a rush here,” I muttered to myself as I used a small burst from the thrusters to alter our direction slightly. “We’ll get there, and then we can see about getting some more lights on in here.”

    The container shifted and then a sound akin to nails on a chalkboard rang through the cargo bay as it scraped the top of the hallway leading to the engine room.

    “Just a little bit longer,” I said. “And then we can take a break.”
     
    • Chapter 3
    • Chapter 3

    “So this hose goes here,” I muttered as I followed Betty's instructions. “And that one goes there.”

    “Then I use the built-in pump on the container to transfer fuel to the engine,” I bit the end of my light while triple-checking the connections. “Now the switch,” I flicked the switch and the pump made a small purring noise as it switched on.

    “Then we wait,” I sighed as I watched the fuel levels in the tank slowly drain into the fusion engine.

    I let myself float away from the tank, looking through the various audio manuals that were available before finding one that would be relevant to the next task.

    “Caution, ensure that you are taking the proper safety precautions before beginning the power-up sequence,” Betty instructed. “Please review said procedures before continuing.”

    –
    –
    “There we go,” I grinned as the giant fusion engine rumbled to life, the lights beginning to shift from a red glow to a bright white. “Thanks, Betty.”

    If the lights hadn’t been lighting up the room, my smile would have done it as I took in the engine room in all of its beauty.

    “This might just be the coolest thing I’ve ever done,” I whispered to myself as I looked at the fusion reactor. “The power of the sun contained and channeled. The fury of the void itself provides energy and power to something that we only dreamt of.”

    Then my eyes caught the motion of a dead engineer floating, the light illuminating the mummy and turning the mood somber once again.

    “They need to be laid to rest first,” I nodded to myself as I flared the maneuvering thrusters a hair, the momentum carrying me to the corpse. “Petty Officer Second Class Laughlin,” I read the name badge. “I’ll do my best to grant you peace.”






    Logging onto Captain James Cromwell’s computer terminal that was keyed to the communicator mounted on my wrist, I began combing through the files, trying to find a list of the crew members so that I could put the dead to rest as they would have wished for it to be done.

    “Give me something here,” I muttered as I worked my way through the unfamiliar OS, eventually stumbling across something that piqued my interest.

    Captains Log: January 1, 2783

    I almost did not sign off on the upgrades that were assigned to my ship. I saw far too many of my fellow sailors and marines die fighting against the very same defense systems that were supposed to be assisting us for me to be comfortable with this. Nevertheless, my engineers and technicians have persuaded me otherwise, claiming that the increased automation will enable the crew to have greater chances of survival and that it will allow us to carry more cargo with us as we scout ahead of whatever fleet or battlegroup we are assigned to.

    Regardless of the upgrades I have been persuaded of, I will be maintaining a vigilant eye on the upgrades that improve automation. Some of this is entirely too close to the SDS systems that went rogue for my liking, and I will pull the plug at the slightest sign of danger to my crew.

    March 5, 2783

    The Manassas is being refitted with a new experimental Jump drive, I never claimed to be one of the brilliant minds of the Hegemony or Star League, but something feels off about this. Unfortunately, the tactical and strategic advantage of being able to increase the jump by ten lightyears is too much for me to pass up, so I am allowing the upgrade to continue. I did manage to persuade them to upgrade and improve the bunks and the Grav decks. They will be some of the finest in the navy when my ship is out of dry dock.


    October 20, 2783

    My Ship has finally left the dry dock, and she looks nothing like the Aegis class cruiser that she once was. She’s not the same ship she was when she was put into dry dock, she altogether something entirely different and it’ll take some time to get used to the new ship that she is.

    February 20, 2784

    I put it up to a vote. The crew decided that we are going to stay with Kerensky, we’re to be taking on cargo and dropships for the journey by the end of the month. I expect that this might be the last chance we will have to see Terra, so I’ve granted some shore leave before we begin preparations.

    April 19, 2784

    We’ve been ordered to guard the rear and both keep an eye out for and prevent any pursuers as we leave the Inner Sphere. We’re to meet up at the Schwartz system with the rest of the fleet before continuing coreward to an unspecified location.

    July 6, 2784

    I did not expect it to be a misjump that did us in. The K-F drive has malfunctioned, and we’re going to be affecting repairs and then trying to catch up to the rest of the fleet. I’m not sure that everything will go according to plan. Thankfully, there is a planet that is in the habitable range in this system. We’ll ferry what civilians we have onboard down to the planet below while we try to figure this out. And even if we fail, we can settle down on the planet and attempt to make things work.

    December 13, 2784

    Today is the scheduled day to test the repaired K-F drive. I have been working alongside the crew to ensure that we have done our very best, and all of our nonessential personnel have been transported to the planet to join the civilians and now we are finishing the last of the preparations.

    In the event of my death and that of my crew, I only ask one thing. Continue and restore the Manassas. She’s a good ship, and deserves a better send-off than to lie adrift as a derelict in the void. Repair her drive, and get her back to her rightful place as a queen of the stars.

    Captain James Cromwell, Star League Navy.
     
    • Chapter 4
    • Chapter 4

    "Is there a proper way to do a space burial for Muslims?" I asked myself as I floated through one of the main cargo areas. "I know there's one for burials at sea."

    Busy, that was what I wanted to be. Busy, because if I was busy I didn't have time to dwell on anything. If I were doing something then I wasn't thinking about what was missing.

    So I started working on the one thing I knew I needed to do first. If I wanted to be able to get anything done, I was going to need to move the dead away from where I was going to be living and working until I knew what I was doing.

    Sighing heavily, a weight settling onto my shoulders, I eased open the empty storage container and slowly maneuvered the body bags in, the weightlessness giving everything an eerie sensation to them as I stacked them on top of each other.

    "Another group down," I said as I looked at the sheet of paper detailing the crew members. "A lot more to go," I sighed.

    —
    —

    "Well, Captain," I said as I looked over the last body. "I'm sorry that we weren't able to meet while you were alive. It seems like you were a good man, and I'd have loved to know someone like you. I'll do my best to honor your last wish. And I hope that you've found peace."

    I zipped up the body bag and attached the tether to my belt, using the handholds to move out of the cabin and down the passageway.

    As I moved through the ship, music filled my mind, drowning out the noise of my mind and filling me with a sense of deep sadness.

    Somber strings and horns resonated as my mind recreated the music, the notes driving me forward to finish this.

    "Captain Cromwell," I opened the door. "You will never be forgotten, you and your crew will be remembered."

    For a minute, it felt like I could almost see the crew. My spirit filled in their faces as they saluted me and said their farewells. The spirits of the dead were at peace now that they wouldn't be forgotten.

    "Godspeed, Captain," I returned the salute. "I'll see you again in paradise."

    I closed the door and paused for a minute, a small prayer leaving my lips as I closed my eyes.

    "Amen," I pushed off from the container and shifted to move to the grav deck. I needed to return to gravity for a bit before I continued work on the rest of the ship.






    "I think these are still good," I muttered as I grabbed the MRE and hot sauce that I had managed to snag from the mess hall. "Not like I have any other options."

    I followed the instructions and waited as the meal started to heat up, the consistency making my stomach roil at first as I pulled the meal out of the packaging.

    "Nope," I cringed and grabbed the hot sauce, opening the bottle and drowning the food in it. "If it's hot enough, you don't have to worry about the taste."

    Digging in, I chewed thoughtfully before swallowing. "You know, it's not that bad when it's covered in spices."

    Continuing to eat, I enjoyed the feeling of a full belly for a minute before turning to the next part of my meal.

    "Blessings abound," I grinned as I opened up the bag of coffee beans that I had taken from Captain Cromwell's cabin and began scooping them into the grinder next to me.

    The heavenly scent of freshly ground coffee wafted up to my nose and a grin sprang to my face unprompted.

    "It's the little things," I said as I worked the odd coffee machine, some of the tension leaving my shoulders.

    Taking the silvery mug I had found, I filled it up with freshly brewed liquid gold as I sat down with a stack of books from the engineers.

    "I guess I finally get to finish college," I shrugged to myself. "Better late than never."

    Opening the first book, I began reading before closing the book. I knew nothing of the subject he was writing about.

    Opening the rest of the books, I skimmed through them, hoping that there would be something I could understand.

    "Fuck me," I laid my head down on the table for a minute. "I don't even know where to start."

    The cold surface of the metal table helped me process, there was a lot to learn, but I had all the time in the universe to learn what I needed to operate the Manassas. Supplies that were meant to last a crew of hundreds stretched a long way when you were alone.

    "Okay, let's start with the basics," I picked my head up off of the table. "I need to find the foundations for what I have here." I stacked the books up on a corner of the table. "But I can't afford to slack off on my physical needs either." I looked over at the gym area of the grav-deck. "So I need a schedule. I started writing notes on a notepad I had in my backpack. "Lastly, any spare moment when I'm not doing something else I need to be in the simulators."

    Making a small block of times, I looked at the communicator that I had taken from Cromwell's wrist, taking note of the time listed and writing it down.






    I wish that I could claim to be some sort of superhuman machine that was capable of understanding all of the complex math and science that I needed to learn. But I struggled. I was never bad at math, but it wasn't something that I had wanted to focus on.

    So, the days of hard studying, working out, and hitting the simulators had now turned into weeks. And yet, I still only understood a fraction of what I needed to.

    So I took a break, and leaving my notes behind, I moved to the cargo bay, it was time to see what kind of loot had been left behind on the Manassas.

    "And so, like Robinson Crusoe, he went to take inventory of what was available to fend off the wilds that lay before him,"
     
    • Chapter 5
    • Chapter 5
    January 21, 3000

    "Reactor online, sensors online, weapons online," Betty announced, the voice of another human giving me some comfort. "All systems nominal."

    "Alright," I muttered. "Let's see if today is any better than yesterday."

    Gently pushing down on the foot pedals, I eased the Warhammer forward and out of the simulated hanger, the giant mech swaying a bit as I struggled to maintain my balance.

    "Now, take it easy, Mark. One step at a time," I allowed my natural walking pace to become one with the machine that I was piloting, the gait straightening out with every step I took. "This is kinda fun," I laughed, beginning to experiment with twisting my torso as I moved through the simulated open field.

    Shifting my weight, I tried moving to a fast jog, only to nearly lose my balance before throttling back to a walk.

    "Okay, no running yet," I let the gyro calibrate again as a warning began to sound.

    "Warning, incoming missiles," Betty warned me as a stream of missiles began arcing down onto my mech, the impacts driving me to one knee.

    "Enemy detected, enemy detected, mech power-up detected," Betty informed me, an image of each mech appearing on the right side of my displays.

    "This was supposed to be a basic walking scenario!" I yelled as I tried to stand up while more missiles struck my mech, sending me falling on my back. "Oh shit," I went quiet as a Highlander dropped from the sky onto my mech, the simulator going dark as its feet landed on the cockpit.

    "What the hell was that?" I asked as I dug into the computer. "Did I select something I shouldn't have?"

    –
    –

    "Okay, that should have fixed it," I climbed in and suited up again.

    I listened to Betty run through the basic phrases again before the hanger appeared.

    Moving at a fast walk out, I immediately powered up my sensors to their full range, now paranoid that I wouldn't be able to ease myself into this skill.

    "Okay," I smiled as everything seemed to be calm. "I think I fixed it," as the words left my mouth, a silver streak came through and savaged my right PPC.

    "Critical hit. Weapon destroyed," Betty said into my ear, the disappointment clear.

    Twitching, I shifted to the right as streams of blue lightning narrowly missed my torso, another silver streak carving out a scar across the opposite shoulder.

    "Mech power-up detected," Betty informed me.

    "I'm aware!" I said as I scanned for threats I couldn't see on sensors or with the mark-one eyeball.

    "Warning, incoming missiles!" Betty said as I managed to get up on both feet and start running back to the hanger, bits of armor getting chewed off by the few missiles that hit me.

    Spinning around, I finally saw one of the mechs, the 90-tonner's Gauss rifle slug hitting my cockpit and causing the simulator to go dark once again.

    "I think I'm done for the day," I groaned as I climbed out of the sim. "I'll try again tomorrow."

    Drenched in sweat, I headed for the showers and then climbed into a bunk before pulling a sleeping bag up around me. Tomorrow was a new day, I would see what I could change then.





    February 15, 3000

    Music blared from my iPhone as I studied the textbooks that I had brought over to the mess hall, a jury-rigged charger keeping the old device powered.

    "Alright, so that's how you do that," I muttered as I scribbled away at the equations listed, double and then triple checking my work before verifying my answers were correct.

    Then, I stood up and stretched, a satisfying ripple of pops rolling down my spine as I flexed.

    Turning my music off, I left my phone on the table while I walked over to the gym area.

    Hopping on a treadmill, I began a warm-up walk, my knee protesting at the movement before settling down the longer I walked.

    Taking it up a notch, I moved into a jog, pushing myself to up my speed a little bit with every session.

    After the run, I held my hands over my head as I gasped for breath, sweat dripping down my armpits as I walked over to the weight racks and picked up the set of dumbells I was using this week.

    I had to do more. As long as I had an objective I could keep moving forward.

    Mentally, I knew that I was going to break down. I knew that I was staving off the inevitable mental break by not allowing myself to think about what had happened to me.

    But I also wanted to live. I can always improve my situation while I'm alive. I cannot do that if I were dead.

    And so, I pushed myself to the brink of exhaustion every day that I was in this derelict, collapsing into my bunk every night before waking up and going back into the grind. This was about more than just surviving, if I wanted to live then I had to survive now.
    –
    –

    "Okay," I said as I climbed into the simulator. "Let's try to last more than two minutes this time."

    As soon as Betty ran through her sequence, I jammed my feet down on the pedals, shifting into a run as the Warhammer underneath me surged, the cooling vest alternating between hot and cold as the reactor spiked in temperature.

    Twisting out of a trio of emerald lasers, I fired back with a PPC, a handful of missiles cratering across my torso as a Gauss slug carved a furrow through my SRMs.

    Knowing that I was out-ranged, I ran for the trees, the thick boughs offering cover from the missiles that continued to rain down on me from above.

    Looking at my seismic sensors, I spun my torso to the right, expecting to see my nemesis in the Highlander only ri be met by a King Crab.

    The assault mech seemed to grin as it's twin AC/20s tore my mech to shreds, my mech's shoulder and arm being ripped off by the burst fire weapon as I teetered on the edge of my feet, the gyros groaning as I barely kept on my feet before driving me knee down into the dirt to stabilize myself as I fired everything I had at the deadly Assault mech.

    "Dammit," I swore as all but one of my medium lasers went wide, the King Crab taking another step forward and shredding the little armor that I had left before hitting the reactor and causing a shut down.

    I sat in the darkness for a moment, thinking about what I had done wrong before a message went across the screen.

    "Life is pain, highness. If anyone tries to tell you anything different they're selling something."

    "As you wish," I ran my hand across the screen as the text faded away, tears beginning to stream down my face as the weight of the emotions I had been holding back fell square onto my shoulders.

    And in the darkness of the void, I wept.
     
    • Chapter 6
    • Chapter 6

    “Five more,” I said to myself as I struggled to pull myself up the bar, my arms shaking as sweat dripped down my armpits and down my side.

    “One,” I grunted as my chin went above the bar.

    “Two,” I exhaled, my arms and chest burning as I lowered myself.

    Taking a deep breath, I pumped out the last three before letting go of the bar, holding my hands over my head as I gasped for breath.

    “Okay, that's done for the day,” I grabbed my notebook and checked today’s workout off of the list.

    Taking a moment to stretch, I considered the last few months.

    I had figured out how to deploy the solar sail over the last month and a half, and the Manassas was currently building up a charge for the K-F drive and Lithium-Fusion batteries.

    “And once I figure out this math I’ll be able to start moving back to civilization,” I muttered. “Just got to have a plan first.”

    Grabbing a towel, I wiped the sweat off of my face before laying it over my shoulder.

    “Now I get to study again,” I raised a fist in the air. “Yay.”






    “Okay, that’s enough studying for the day,” I pushed the textbook away and glanced at the piles of finished books.

    “Another month and I should be good to at least understand the engineer’s notes,” I put my notebook away before heading for the door. “But that’s for later.”

    —
    —

    Entering the shipboard armory, I stared for a minute before wiping the drool from the corner of my mouth. This was a gun lover’s dream come true, I had ballistic weapons on one wall, lasers on another, grenades and body armor on shelves, and a closed sealed door for specialist weapons in the back.

    Grinning, I stepped forward and grabbed one of the laser rifles, hefting the weapon to get a feel for the weight.

    “This thing was definitely not designed for sustained use. I grunted as I shouldered the weapon and peered down the scope. “This thing is hefty.”

    Setting the rifle down, I moved over and did the same with a handgun and one of the ballistic rifles, “I’m definitely keeping these,” I pocketed a laser pistol before looking at the doors in the back of the armory. “Now, let’s see what you’re hiding behind here.”

    I used Captain Cromwell’s credentials on the door and it slid open with a sharp “hiss!” revealing something that I had not expected to see on this ship.

    “It’s no Mjolnir,” I said as I touched the suit. “But you don’t get much better than this.”




    A few weeks later…

    “I need a plan,” I muttered as I looked at the star charts. “What are my options?” I mused as I thought out loud.

    “Draconis Combine,” I glanced at the red section of the map. “It’s the closest to me, but I’m not Viking or Japanese enough to fit in.”

    “Lyran Commonwealth,” I mused. “I like you, but I’m not sure exactly how I’d fit in. I’m as like to shoot someone for trying to play games and being corrupt as I am to prosper.”

    “Free Worlds League,” I hummed. “Civil War-O-Clock doesn’t sound very fun.”

    “I’m not a communist,” I look at the green markings on the map. “And I’m definitely not British or French enough to fit in with the Federated Suns.”

    “The Periphery might have some decent options, but the Taurians are just about the only ones who I could stand living with long term,” I sighed. “Whelp, this sucks.” I navigated the map over to the Taurian Concordat’s border with the Fedsuns before pausing as a handful of stars appeared with an Alpha-Numeric code. “Hello there,” I wrote down the star coordinates. “Let’s see what you’re hiding now, shall we?”

    –
    –

    I spent days combing through Captain Cromwell’s journal as well as the journals of the others who had died on the Manassas, trying to figure out exactly what those coordinates were referencing before giving it up as a lost cause until I had finished learning how to use the K-F Drive.

    “One thing at a time, Mark,” I said as I dove back into the books, trying to make sure that I did it right instead of fast. If I ever wanted to get back to a place with people again then I was going to need to need to do this the right way instead of the fast way. The fast way might lead to more issues like the ones the original crew had, and I had no intention of ending up like them.
     
    • Chapter 7
    • Chapter 7

    "I don't want to do this," I looked at the LF battery and the K-F Drive. "But I need to."

    Floating in and around the drive, I worked through the checklist that I had downloaded, the voice of Betty walking me through the steps to ensure that I didn't miss anything.

    Starting with the helium seals, I moved through all of the systems, replacing what needed to be replaced and doing basic maintenance. Now that I understood most of the underlying theory, I needed to familiarize myself with the physical processes and repairs that were needed.

    "This one's blown," I removed the seal and pulled my tethered pack to me, grabbing a new seal out before allowing the pack to float away.


    "Always check the seals before moving on," Betty's voice reminded me.

    "Running tests now," I replied to the somewhat comforting voice. "This seal's good, time to move on to the next one."

    –
    –

    "Alright, helium seals are good," I muttered. "Now I get to check the small parts of the drive."

    Pulling myself down a bit, I switched on the work light that was clipped to the chest of my uniform before removing the first of many panels that led to the interior of the drive.

    "And these are supposed to be the small electronics," I shook my head. "It's not exactly hard to tell which board is fried when they're this large."

    I moved through all of the circuit boards, pulling each and every single one out as I went over them, making sure the connections were solid and that there were no parts that needed to be replaced and resoldered.

    "One board out of twenty isn't awful," I replaced the damaged board before pulling myself out of that section and moving onto another. "Now let's see what the computers have to say."

    I pushed a control and used the small amount of thrust to float over to the main computers and began turning them on.

    "Reactor online, Kearny-Fuchida drive online, scanning systems now," I waited a few minutes while the computer ran through the scans. "Warning, fault detected in section D-10."

    "That's the link between the LF battery and the drive," I moved to that section. "Damn, I'm going to have to replace most of the links before I try to jump."






    "So, I know this is probably cliche as hell," I said into the camera I had found. "But I'm going to do the whole Iron Man testing thing while I've got the chance."

    "This is Nighthawk test number one," I pulled the helmet over my head. "We're going to start with a basic walk and move on from there."

    Shifting my weight, I tried to take a step forward and fell right onto my face.

    "Well, that didn't work all that well," I pushed myself up onto my knees. "This could take a while."

    –
    –

    "This is Nighthawk test number five, I think I've managed to get the first step down, but we're about to find out."

    Pushing forward with my left foot, I cheered as I stayed upright, moving at a slow walk through the room until I stopped back at the pedestal the armor had been on.

    "Test number five was a success. I'll conduct more tests tomorrow."

    –
    –

    "K-F Drive is mostly fixed," I wrote down. "I've got to track down the replacement link to the L-F battery before I can finish that," I glanced at my exposed biceps. "Workout routine seems to be showing some minor results. And I managed to survive more than five minutes in the sims."

    After I finished writing everything that I could think of down, I leaned back in the chair and stretched while yawning.

    "So, what do I have left?" I asked as I looked down at the nearly full notebook. "I'm not going to climb back into the Nighthawk or the simulators for the day. And there's not a chance in hell I'm working on the K-F Drive until I've had time to study the linkage between it and the L-F Battery."

    "Whelp," I stood up. "I might as well check out the Confederate dropships that are currently attached to the ship. Might be something useful there."

    –
    –

    "Last page," I looked at my notebook as I floated down through the hatch to the first of the dropships. "Let's hope they still have paper somewhere."

    "Let's get the power up and running," I followed the signs down to the engine room. "I want to know what to call this ship."

    Refueling the onboard secondary reactors only took a fraction of the time it had taken to refuel the Manassas.

    "Alright," I powered up the secondary reactors and grinned as the lights flickered at first and then stayed on. "Let's see what your name is, old girl."

    "The Last of Us," I hummed as I went through the computers on the bridge. "If only you knew."

    Pulling up the cargo manifest, I downloaded it to the wrist device before heading down to the mech and aerospace bays.

    "Four Warhammers," I checked the manifest before nodding. "So far it looks like they maintained good records. But let's see whether they're the standard variants or if they're something special."

    "It's probably a good thing that you can't tell whether the mechs are standard variants or advanced at first glance," I looked at the panel that detailed the specs on the four mechs in the gantries. "Because just these four would be enough to make a terrifying lance."

    "They really loaded up on the spare parts too," I looked in one of the storage bays. "Probably can't deploy for combat until this is all pulled out and moved for use, but it's still impressive. The Stingrays are nice birds too."

    Moving through all of the cargo bays and closets, I triple-checked the manifest, ensuring that all of the numbers were accurate and updating them if they were off.

    "Missing two Fusion Engines," I noted. "I bet they took them to the planet for use as generators."

    "Handful of small lasers and some PPCs are missing as well," I wrote down. "They left the ER large lasers and ER PPCs though."

    Then, finishing my work, I left the cargo bay, it was time to inspect the other dropships. Maybe there was a surprise or two waiting.
     
    • Chapter 8
    • Chapter 8

    "Jump one was successful," I wrote down. "Second jump was good as well, now I have to wait a couple of weeks for the K-F Drive and the battery to charge before I can jump again."

    "And that was the last of my paper," I slammed down the notebook, only for it to float away in the zero-G. "It's not like I needed that or anything!"

    "Arghh!" I threw myself out of the seat and grabbed my notebook, preparing to rip it in half.

    "Reminder," Betty's voice cut my rage off. "It is recommended that all seals are checked before jumping again."

    Sighing, I let the notebook drift off further away into the bridge as I headed further into the Manassas.

    "You could work with me a bit," I muttered. "I understand that you're an old girl, but that doesn't mean you have to be upset."

    The silence was deafening, the eerie quiet filling the air and putting pressure on me as I floated through the cargo bay.

    Finally reaching the engine room, I checked the seals before tucking my knees into my chest and allowing myself to float away as I tried to figure out where to go from here.





    Months later, En route to secret supply base between Taurian Concordat and Federated Suns …

    "Reactor online, sensors online, weapons online, all systems nominal."

    "I love your voice, Betty," I sat in the simulator and turned it off again before restarting it so that I could hear the sequence again. "You never change."

    Finally, I began the scenario, narrowly avoiding the first barrage of LRMs and nailing the Highlander with a PPC before ducking into the rainforest, the thick trees protecting me from the return fire and hiding me from the Assault mechs that lay in wait.

    "Passive sensors engaged," Betty said as I skid to a stop and shut down any external signs that I existed aside from the heat of my reactor.

    I held my breath as an Atlas walked by, the 100-tonner missing me in the trees.

    "Come on," I muttered as the mech turned its back on me. "I just need one shot."

    The Atlas then turned and spotted me, its AC/20 spitting out projectiles as its lasers carved apart the jungle.

    Snapping my medium lasers and SRMs onto the target, I flipped my active sensors online as I slammed my feet on the pedals, driving my Warhammer forward as I tore into the assault mech's knees, carving away at the armor and driving the mech back as I got into minimum range.

    "No, you don't," I kicked the Atlas back, the AC/20 going wide as I turned a kick into a shove with my shoulder, followed by my SRMs tearing into the grinning skull.

    After I shattered the Atlas, I was racked by a Gauss slug, the shoulder of my Warhammer caving in as the armor shattered.

    Moving quickly, I ducked around the Atlas, using its massive bulk as cover, holding it up with one PPC as I aimed the other at the Nightstar that was at extreme range.

    Squeezing my trigger, a bolt of manmade lightning moved through the forest, only to splash harmlessly against a tree branch before it approached its target.

    Another two Gauss rounds impacted the Atlas I was using as a shield, driving me down to a knee as I braced against the heavier machine before shoving it off and firing both PPCs at the same time as the Nightstar hammered me with its own armament, the twin gauss rifles accompanied by the ER PPC tearing away the last of my torso protection and leaving me vulnerable to the laser and machine gun fire that came from the nearby trees, sending my mech crashing to the ground and ending the simulation.

    "Dammit!" I slammed my fist into the side of the pod, the unyielding metal breaking the skin over my knuckles. "Is it too much to ask for even one easy simulation?! Huh?! Can't I catch a break here?!"

    Opening the simulator pod, I stormed out toward the gym, there was a punching bag that needed some attention.






    "And now we wait for two more weeks," I looked at the map. "Another two weeks of freakin' paradise! Isn't it great that we get to enjoy this together?!"

    "But it's just me," I sagged. "Nobody in cryo like in that movie with Chris Pratt, no Wilson to talk to. I'm all alone, At least Robinson Crusoe had animals, and shipwrecks to explore. Me? I'm just stuck here with nothing to do!"

    As I raged against everything, my phone floated out of my pocket, the familiar device catching my eye.

    "Maybe there's something I missed," I sucked in air and forced my fists to unclench, the anger still churning in my gut.

    Unlocking my phone, I went through all of my apps before my eyes lit on something that I had forgotten.

    "That's right!" a grin broke through my face. "I downloaded some movies to listen to on the drives!"

    Touching the control on the thrusters, I shot forward, heading for the Grav deck at a rapid pace. I had movies to watch, and nothing but time to enjoy them with.

    –
    –

    Flipping on the Tri-vid, I reclined the small chair back and sipped on some whiskey that I had found in the kitchens, somehow, they still used 3.5mm audio jacks and I was able to capture the sound in high definition while also recording the screen. The hologram made up for any mistakes I had made while recording the movies to watch on the big screen.

    "As long as the audio is synched then it doesn't matter," I nodded to myself as I watched Keanu Reeves begin his descent back into the underworld of John Wick.

    The audio in this small theater space was incredible, with the gunshots sounding just as good as they had when I saw them in theaters back home, and the sound of human voices aside from Betty and the music I had was calming. Finally, I was able to find some small manner of peace, even if I did have a long time before I reached my destination.
     
    • Chapter 9
    • Chapter 9
    A third of the way to the coordinates between the Federated Suns and Taurian Concordat…


    "Yes, I'll make a man, out of you!" I sang at the top of my lungs as I checked over some of the gun emplacements on the Manassas. "You must be swift as the coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon. With all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the mooooon!"

    I belted out lyrics as I serviced the gun, my voice eventually fading as I realized I had forgotten some of the lyrics. "What was the next part?" I muttered as I checked over the autocannon ammunition for defects. "Not important, I can figure it out later."


    "I need something to do," I sighed. "I've maintained everything so far, and I don't want to face off against the computer again."

    I glanced down at my body, the movement from zero-g to gravity and back had kept me lean, but the workouts had ensured that what little fat I had, had been converted into muscle, having nothing to do besides work and work out had some pleasant side effects, but was also not something that I had expected.

    "I need better hobbies," I laughed as gravity regained its hold on me once again. "I'm acting a bit crazy."

    "But first, Lunch," I hummed as I examined the stash of MREs. "I wonder how the Triple F burger tastes?" I grabbed one of the Fedsun's ration packs and started heating it. "I hope the reputation holds up."






    "Nighthawk armor test five hundred and eighty-eight," I said to the camera as I moved off of the pedestal, grabbing the device as I moved to the cargo bay. "Today we're testing maneuverability, along with breaking down the suit to figure out how it works on an individual area level. I've already collected some of the industrial exoskeletons from the cargo bay, and I'm going to see how different they are."

    The built-in Jump jets were nice, and I used them to move quickly through the ship before reaching the area I had set aside for testing.

    –
    –

    "So, after further analysis, I've noted a couple of issues with the Nighthawk powered armor," I said to the camera. "Especially when you compare it to an industrial exoskeleton."

    "The first issue is the ease of manufacture. The Nighthawk requires certain proprietary computing and other high-tech processes to build the suits in any number. Whereas, the industrial suits can be built in any facility that can make both tanks or mechs and can even be manufactured from the scrap materials of both facilities of both. The power sources for both suits are utter bullshit. With neither of them being able to hold enough power for a logical engagement. A battle could wear on for days, and you might not be able to resupply. And with the suits as heavy as they are, if anything happens to your power, then you're Shit outta luck. God forbid you end up behind enemy lines in one of these things."

    "I think that the suits are good," I pointed toward the Nighthawk. "But there are a lot of things that I would change if given the chance. I'll start working on design philosophies later, it's not like I've got anything but time on my hands right now."






    "Nope, not today!" I dodged a barrage of LRMs as they dropped from the sky, my PPCs connecting with the Catapult that had launched them and cutting off one of its knees.

    Spinning around, I allowed my mech to cool for a moment before targeting a Crab with my SRMs, the missiles leaving craters along the enemy mech as they detonated, the lasers that followed drove the lighter mech back as my PPCs cycle.

    "Target destroyed," Betty whispered in my ear as I took out the cockpit of the Catapult that was struggling to rise to its feet. "Mech powerup detected!"

    "I know that I'm being targeted!" I yelled back to Betty. "You don't need to remind me every time something appears!"

    Breaking out into a run, I drove my Warhammer into the nearby river and knelt, the river flowing over my mech and cooling it off as steam rose around me.

    Standing up, I nailed the Crab with everything barring my small lasers and Machine guns, the lasers, missiles, and manmade lightning tore the gyro out of the mech and left the medium crippled on the ground.

    "Come on now," I whispered to the simulations. "You never start with mediums and heavies. What's your play here?"

    I cycled through the various vision modes as I looked around, trying to locate what traps the computer had left for me now when Betty spoke into my ear. "Target detected."

    "Oh, fuck me I guess," the Warhammer shrugged in tune with me as a quartet of ASF dropped bombs from the sky and flattened my mech along with everything around it for a kilometer or so.

    "I just can't win," I leaned back against the harness. "I don't have a lance with me, and there's not a chance in hell I would have been able to take out four Elite ASF pilots with only a couple of PPCs."

    "What's next, huh?" I glared at the machine. "You're going to have me start out in a minefield, or be bombarded by artillery platforms as soon as I leave the mech bay?"
    "Dammit!" I climbed out of the sim pod. "I was actually doing well for once."

    Toweling off the sweat that had accumulated, I made my way to the showers, It was almost time to plot the next jump, and I needed something to do that wouldn't drive me even more insane.

    "I need to find something new to do," I climbed into the shower, the limited water running off and into a recycling center. "Maybe there's something on one of the data cores somewhere."

    —
    —

    "And, time for the second jump," I pushed the button, and the strangeness of jumping filled my mind again.

    "I wonder if I'm going crazy?" I asked after the few strange visions had passed. "Or if having weird dreams during jumps is normal."

    "Who am I kidding, I'm talking to myself, I've been on the crazy train for a long time now," I chuckled as I began to run the systems checks again while humming a tune that I remembered from long ago.
     
    • Chapter 10
    • Chapter 10

    Two-thirds of the way to the coordinates between the Federated Suns and the Taurian Concordat…

    "We need you, Mark," my wife's voice whispered into my ears. "The kids need a father. Come home."

    "I can't," I whispered back as I swallowed and a few tears floated up from my eyes. "There is no way home."

    "There is one way."

    "No," I shook my head. "I'm not doing it. There is always a way to improve your situation."

    "You don't believe that anymore," a weight settled onto my shoulders. "You're just going through the motions."

    "You're right," the tension left my body. "I am just going through the motions. But better a shallow existence now that can be improved later than death."

    "It would be so easy though, and you wouldn't feel anything."

    I was hyperventilating, I knew that there wasn't anything there on some levels, but everything was real. I could hear the voice of my wife. I could feel something touching me.

    "I can't do what you're asking of me," I whispered. "I won't do it, I won't do it….."






    "Jump target is set," I muttered. "Dead world number thirty-five, yay!" I pumped my fist into the air with a halfhearted grunt. "Now to go run more maintenance."

    "No," I shook my head as I reached one of the cargo bays. "I'm doing something different today."

    I floated over to the crate that I had identified with a data core earlier and attached it to my tether.

    "We're going to see what you have on you," I hit the jets and began moving to the Grav-deck. "I might as well figure out if there's anything else interesting here."

    There was silence in response, I was still alone. There was no Friday to my Robinson Crusoe, no parrots, no goats. I remained the only living thing on the ship, and there was no substitute for companionship.

    –
    –

    "Whelp, this drive is useful, but ultimately not something that's likely to get me killed," I glanced over the data. "Lots of stuff here on Hegemony water purifiers and the like. But I'm not seeing a lot of military hardware here. Basic myomer structures, how to build exoskeletons. Oh, now this is interesting."





    "So, what's the play here?" I asked myself as I climbed into the simulator once more. "Got any ideas for me before I run out and get shot, Betty?"

    The computer remained silent, the power up cycle seemingly taking longer than normal before the familiar layout of a Warhammer appeared in front of me.

    "An island chain," I looked at the tactical map. "Wonder what I'll get hit with this time."

    "Mech power up detected!" Betty announced as she displayed a Locust in my sensors.

    "Whelp, that does it, I'm screwed," I squeezed the trigger, one of my PPCs narrowly missing the 20 ton mech before it dodge right into the SRMs that I had led it into, one of the actuators on its leg shattering and sending the mech down into a slide.

    Pouring some lasers in to the mech, I watched as the mech vanished from my sensor screen before turning and surveying the area around me.

    "Come on," I twisted my Warhammer's torso, trying to see where the surprise was going to come from. "I know there's something here."

    As I flipped through the vision modes, I eventually saw something on the horizon, a sigh leaving my mouth as I sagged against the straps.

    I looked up at the sky and began running for the trees, the LRMs briefly blotted out the sun as I avoided as many as I could.

    "I don't have the range to take those on yet," I moved out of the line of sight, parts of the wire diagram of my mech shining yellow signifying the loss of armor. "They've got to have a spotter somewhere around here."

    Then the artillery shells started dropping onto the forest, the simulator turning up the heat to show that some of them had been incendiary shells, the forest around me going up in a blaze as the artillery rounds set them on fire.

    "I surrender," I ran through the power down sequence that showed a surrender. "I'm not fighting that today. I just can't."

    The simulator shut down shortly afterward, my mech having been thrown to the ground and taken out by some precision arty rounds.

    "I'm so tired," I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed my eyes. "Why can't I just get a win? Just once I would like to have something that is going well for me."

    I undid the straps and slid out of the simulator, following my normal routine of showering and then climbing into bed. "Maybe things will be better in the morning."

    –
    –

    Things were not better in the morning. I felt miserable, a chill set into me and my bones ached. My left knee throbbed as if I had reinjured it and my entire body screamed for me to simply lay still.

    "I think, I'm going to do nothing today," I drank some water before rolling over and closing my eyes, slipping off into the soft world of sleep.
     
    • Chapter 11
    • Chapter 11

    “It’d be so easy,” the voice whispered in my ear. “It’s not like you don’t have the means to do it.”

    I considered the weapon in my lap, considering the words spoken.

    “Just a gentle squeeze, and then you would feel the sweet release. Don’t you want to return to those who you love?”

    I closed my eyes and exhaled slowly as I set my old handgun to the side.

    A tear trickled down my face as I stood up and turned to move. Action, it seemed was my only path forward.

    “They can’t touch me if I’m working,” I muttered, obsessively going over every single component of the bridge instruments. “Stay busy and they’ll leave me alone.”

    Screwdriver and small instruments kit in hand, I dismantled the panels before putting them back together, focusing everything on moving away from the demons that were haunting me.

    –
    –

    “Scenario one cleared, beginning the transition into scenario two,” Betty informed me as the screen went black; the simulator loading the next one.

    “Oh, fuck me,” I breathed as the blur of Terra was ‘below’ the feet of my mech. “

    “All units, prepare to secure drop zones,” a voice in Russian-accented English came through my speakers. “Those of you alive in orbit, try to make your way down and join us, if you are unable to, then await pickup after the battle has been completed.”

    My Warhammer spun in a lazy circle as the simulators fed me information via the sensors.

    “Enemy fighter detected, enemy fighter detected,” Betty’s voice drew me out of the sense of wonder that had filled me.

    “Options,” I scanned the instruments available to me. “I can’t maneuver in space, and I’m not in a drop pod.”

    Snapping my fingers, I flipped the arming switch and triggered my SRMs in a staggered pattern, changing the spin cycle and allowing me to face the ASF that were about to close in.

    Relying on the scanners, I gently squeezed off both PPCs, the twin arcs of lightning missing the fighter completely as an AC/20 round shattered my armor and sent me spinning off further away from the planet below.

    Keeping my breathing steady, I started sending out handshake protocols, trying to see if there were any friendlies in this scenario, or if I were alone again.

    “This is Spectre, looks like you’re in the same boat I am,” a deep voice responded to my comms. “I can see you’re in a ‘Hammer. I’m in a Blackjack, but my targeting computer was stripped outta Rifleman, I’ll link my comp to yours, and we’ll see if we can survive this.”

    Tapping an acknowledgment on my comms, I accepted the link before signing as I saw the amount of enemy fighters were around us.


    “We’ve got a group of three moving in,” Spectre breathed. “Follow my lead.”

    The sensors told me that the Blackjack’s autocannon was ineffective, but I triggered what I had anyway, and was rewarded when one of the fighters burst into debris for a brief moment before a trip of PPCs and an AC/20 carved a hole into my armor and cored my engine, the screen going black aside from the view of Earth far below as it faded away.





    Nearing the coordinates between the Taurian Concordat and Federated Suns.

    I prayed, I prayed like I had never done before in my life, I was close to giving up, and I didn’t know if I had the strength to continue on.

    “Lord, I know that I’ve not always been the most faithful of servants, that I’ve screwed up, and that I often turn my back on your ways for the short but seemingly more pleasant path,” I breathed as I considered my next words. “I’ve lived as if you didn’t exist, and I was wrong. And now, I need you more than I’ve ever needed you before. I need your comfort, I need your presence. I am alone, and I don’t know how much longer I can take,” I sobbed, words leaving me as I wept alone and in silence.

    Then, a gentle warmth seemed to spread through me, and it felt as if I had been given a hug, the weight having lifted off of my shoulders.

    I had once heard it said that religion was a crutch, and while they meant my faith specifically, they were also referencing every religion that had existed. They had said that any such faith was only for those too weak to live life on their own.

    Well, they were right. I needed a crutch, and I could not do this on my own. And now, as I neared the end of this bit of my journey, I needed the comfort of faith more than ever before.

    So I wiped my tears from my eyes, blew my nose, and crawled into bed. Tomorrow would be a new day.






    Journal Entry: Day 520

    Well, I’m about to find out what those coordinates had at them. Seems that whatever it is, the Star League     really wanted it hidden away from everyone.

    I’m… sorry that I wasn’t able to keep this more up to date, there are a few stretches of time that I don’t actually remember, gaps in my memory where I think I went crazy.

    Ha! If my computer hadn’t been keeping track of the days for me, I wouldn’t have even known what year it is right now.

    Anyway, when I hopefully look back and am able to read this, I hope I’m in a better place. It got pretty dark here for a while.

    Just remember to keep hope alive. Even when it seems lost, Faith, Hope, and Love are important to staying alive. Don’t let them go, or you’ll find yourself on a path that leads to destruction.

    I’ll update this journal when I’ve made the transition to the next jump point. Guess I’ll write some more down then.
     
    • Chapter 12
    • Chapter 12

    Taking a sip of my coffee, I went over the route again, manuals were littered across the table as I went through every procedure that was listed.

    "Come on, there's got to be something there," I let my head fall onto the table, the cool metal surface clearing my mind a bit. "I'm gonna have to check the sensors to see if I'll have to use one of the Confederates down, or if I can just dock with the Manassas."

    –
    –

    "Well, that's interesting," I looked at the picture of the system the sensors had painted for me. "Freakin' Star League," I shook my head. "Always knew they had too much money on their hands."

    The SLDF had hidden a small repair and resupply base in this system. Without the right knowledge, this system would simply be another one of the thousands of systems that had been marked down as not having a habitable planet.

    But with the right knowledge, some things were made very clear.

    "The SLDF was very much prepared for the periphery to rebel," I muttered. "I bet this isn't even the only system set aside for this sort of thing. If the RWR could have hidden factories and shipyards, then the League likely did as well."

    I moved to the comms station and sent out a basic communications signal with Captain Cromwell's old codes, hoping that there would be some sort of automated response.

    After waiting for a few minutes, an automated handshake protocol responded. Nothing more than a simple docking instruction, but it was enough to tell me that the facility was still active and capable of responding.

    "And now I have to figure out how to get you docked with this place, old girl," I patted the console of the Manassas' bridge. "Because I'm still figuring out some of your tricks."

    Moving over to the next station, I did something that had not been done in over two hundred years.

    Hitting a small switch I slowly pushed the Fusion engines forward, keeping an eye on the reactor's heat levels and looking for any signs that my maintenance had been faulty.

    And then, gravity slowly changed as the whole Warship reached 1G for the first time in nearly three centuries.

    Now I had to do the hard part. Figure out how to fly in more than a straight line, and how to dock with the station.






    "So, it looks like I've got three or four options," I muttered as I stroked my beard. "Option one is going for a spacewalk after parking close enough for it to be feasible. Option two is taking one of the Confederates to the repair facility and working things out from there. Option three is I learn how to trigger the automated systems and dock the Manassas with the station. And option four is I turn this thing around and park it in one of the Fedsun's or Concordat's systems and see what they'll give me for it."

    I considered my options for a few moments before my curiosity got the better of me.

    "I really want to know what's on the station," I grin as I position myself to move back onto the bridge. "Who knows what secrets the League was hiding out here in BFE?"

    –
    –

    Adjusting my grip on the controls, I wiped some sweat from my brow before toggling the side thrusters, the aft of the ship spinning gently around and to a stop as I flared the opposing side and the aft stopped moving.

    I looked at the simulated run and sighed, space is massive, and getting a ship perfectly aligned to dock with a station of any kind required precision like I had never considered before. All of the media I had ever consumed made it look easy.

    It was anything but easy, momentum continues in space until you generate an opposite reaction. This sounds simple, we have all had science classes, and the basics of Newton's principles and laws are common sense by now. But knowing about the basic laws that govern the void, and knowing how they interact with what you're doing immediately was another thing entirely.

    "Simulation failed," Betty informed me. "Generating success rate."

    "I'm not sure I want to know," I rested my head on the terminal screen while waiting for Betty to tell me how I did.

    "Success rate of thirty percent, please see your immediate superior officer for more training."

    "So let's do it again," I sat up and restarted the scenario, I was going to get this done right. Even if it took me weeks before I was ready to accomplish it.





    Day 2
    "Success rate of thirty-five percent."
    -
    Day 3
    "Success rate of twenty-five percent."
    -
    Day 4
    "Success rate of ten percent"

    "Stupid fucking simulator," I swore and slammed my hand into my thigh, wincing as the pain shot through my leg. "It shouldn't be this hard to just learn how to move a brick in space!"
    -
    Day 5
    "Success rate of five-zero percent."

    "I know," I muttered as I closed my eyes and tried to go to sleep. "I'm aware that I failed again, just let me sleep before I try it again."

    But my mind would not let me rest. As I tried to sleep, visions of failing the docking procedure played out behind my eyelids. The potential explosions that might occur, the rupture of the hull, and death due to lack of oxygen. The horror of being alone forever as I died out here where no one would mourn me.

    "Would you like to restart the simulation?" Betty asked as I opened my eyes and grabbed at the controls before tapping yes.

    –
    –

    I had once laughed at a joke said in the Mass Effect series, but I in no way considered it a joke now. Sir Isaac Newton was truly the most deadly son of a bitch in space. Momentum, gravity, thrust, everything in space relied on his basic principles and laws, and nothing dared to violate them with the exception of the K-F drives.

    I shook my head free of my thoughts and consciously loosened my grip on the controls as I eased the Manassas into the proper area, the computers communicating across the void as I shifted forward.

    Part of the Asteroid opened up, a 'U' shape extending out and lights appearing to guide me in.

    "Nothing ventured," I repeated the old maxim. "Nothing gained."

    Pushing the controls forward, I guided the ship into the berth, my hands dancing across the various controls as I feathered through the area and watched as the green lights lit up to indicate a solid position before magnetic clamps latched on and secured the ship in place.

    "I never want to do that again," I released the breath that I had been holding. "That was terrifying."

    I leaned back in the chair as the thrusters were cut off and the berth retracted back into the asteroid.

    "Now for a little exploration."
     
    • Chapter 13
    • Chapter 13


    "It's beautiful," I wept as I looked at the simulated sunlight and overgrown greenhouse that was deep within the station. I knelt and smelled the overgrown grass and then spotted the pond that was further up, driving me to rise and look at the fish teeming within.

    A grin spread across my face as I enjoyed the life that was here, it might just be plants and fish, but that was more than I had been able to see for the last two years.

    Laying back against the grass and closing my eyes to the simulated sun, I could almost pretend that I was back on earth, the soil beneath me felt right, and the smell was almost home as well.

    "I think I'll explore the rest of the station later," I yawned and let my head fall back against the grass. "I think I should get some rest."

    With a final, pleased sigh, I drifted off into the peaceful embrace of sleep.

    –
    –
    Waking up a few hours later, I sat up and rubbed the remnants of exhaustion out of my eyes, feeling more rested from the nap that I had just taken than I had from getting a full night's rest over the last two years.

    "I'm going to have to see if there are any fishing poles around," I looked at the fish pond. "Some fried fish sounds really good right now."

    Then, I left the greenhouse, I had rested enough for now and there was work to be done.






    "One intact Potemkin carrier," I noted as I looked in the other full berths of this remote base. "One damaged Texas class battleship and one Invader jumpship," I sighed and drank some water to stave off the incoming headache. "And I get to go over the contents of every single one of them."

    "We'll start with the Age of Discovery," I read the ship's title from the side. "Might be fun."

    Moving via gantry, I reached one of the airlocks and began cycling through, the ship's power systems still being active enough for this sort of thing even after hundreds of years without being serviced.

    "Say what you will about the Star League and other nations in this universe," I rapped the side of the ship once I was inside. "But they built things to last."

    Then, turning on the light that was attached to the kit I was using, I started navigating to the cargo bay of the massive Warship.

    "This was a waste of resources," I sighed as I looked at the mostly empty bay. "The Potemkin class could have been the best thing to happen to the merchant marine for every nation. Twenty-five dropships to ferry the cargo to and from the planet, and enough space for passenger capacity as well."

    I shook my head as I inspected the crates that were left and began taking notes. "Lots of ammo supplies and spare SLDF uniforms, not much advanced tech here," I opened up one of the crates to find stacks of SLDF-grade neurohelmets. "Okay, there's some advanced tech here. But I don't think there's all that much on this ship at least."

    –
    –

    After a few hours, I finished my inventory of the Age of Discovery's cargo bay and decided that it was time for a break.

    Grabbing a fishing pole and some baits I had found, I went to the greenhouse and got set up, once again smiling at the green that was around me.

    After a few minutes of waiting, a fish grabbed onto the hook and I reeled it in, a grin spreading across my face as I pulled the catfish off of my hook and dropped it into the bucket beside me.

    I was going to eat well tonight.






    I wasn't quite sure how they had managed to get the flour to stay shelf stable for this long, but I wasn't going to question it as I mixed together what I needed to fry the fish up, the egg substitute working as I breaded the filets and mixed in the spices that I was using to season.

    My homemade cajun probably needed a bit of work, but I didn't have any hot sauce available, and I desperately needed something besides the MREs that had been left aboard the Manassas.

    And so, I lowered the basket into the fryer, the sound of the fish cooking a delight to my ears as I moved over to begin cutting up the potatoes I had found in the greenhouse as the smell of freshly cooked food filled my nose for the first time in over a year.

    "Remember to pull it out when it's golden brown," I reminded myself as I looked over the fryer at the fish cooking within.

    After a couple of minutes, I pulled the fish out and set them to the side on a plate before letting the oil heat up again, once the temperature reached what it should be, I lowered the fries in and watched as they quickly began cooking.

    "I'm glad that salt doesn't really go bad," I muttered as I tossed the fries in a bowl after they were done frying, the salt I had tossed in with the fries seasoning them.

    "And now for dinner," I put the fries on the plate and sat down at the nearby table.

    Using a fork, I easily cut a small piece of the fish off and chewed it thoughtfully before swallowing, a feeling of contentment settling over me as I enjoyed the taste of something similar to home.

    "It's not quite as good as it could be," I ate a few fries. "But it's a damn sight better than those MREs."

    I ate the plate and then went back to the kitchen where I fried up the rest of the fish and potatoes I had gathered earlier. I knew that I was going to pay for this later, but right now, I was hungry, and I was going to eat as much as I wanted before my stomach and brain decided to get on the same page.

    I knew that there was a lot left to do, but for a minute, I almost felt like I was home again, and that made all the difference.
     
    • Chapter 14
    • Chapter 14

    "I… Have no idea what I'm doing," I admitted to myself as I looked around at the bridge of the now identified Invader Jumpship. "This thing isn't like the Manassas with all of the automation upgrades."

    I sighed as I looked around. That was a problem that would have to be resolved another day.

    I left the bridge and used the docking collars to board the first of the trio of Dropships that were attached, the three aerodynes being unfamiliar to me.

    "I've got your names," I touched the door to the airlock that was marked with the first ship's name. "Vagabond, Troy, and Messenger," I repeated before beginning to cycle said airlocks. "Now let's see what you hold inside."

    –
    –

    Unlike the Manassas, these ships had all been properly mothballed before being left behind, and as such, all I had to do was flip a few switches and reconnect the fuel tanks to the fusion engines. The task made far easier to the small amount of gravity the station generated.

    "Now, are you really a Vagabond?" I asked as the Fusion engine on the dropship purred to life. "Let's find out."

    Leaving the engine room behind, I walked through the ship to the cargo bay, stopping in the crew quarters as I did so to get a picture of those who had left the sip behind.

    But the ship was stripped bare of any personal effects, with only the bunks and computer terminals left behind.

    But in the cargo bay was something interesting… Rows of 'mechs lined the twin cargo bays, the lack of any armament telling me that they were industrial 'mechs, but they still held value all the same.

    "There's around thirty machines here," I muttered, and eyed the stored quadmechs. "I'll have to see if they left behind the manifest. Might be something interesting here."

    The third cargo bay merely held spare parts for the 'mechs that were stored below, but it also held the manifest, and a quick glance told me exactly what I was looking at. "We've got thirty Daedalus Industrialmechs and a trio of old Jabberwocky's."

    "Probably some other goods on the other two dropships," I left the Vagabond behind after noting what was stored there. "Guess I'll find out."






    "People are idiots," I dropped my head onto a desk deep inside of the station. "We're a thousand years in the future and people are still writing their passwords down."

    "At least this time it helped me out," I sighed. "The SLIC would have had these guys executed for something like this though. I've got access to classified data here."

    Opening up the data, I began to read. I wanted to know why this station existed, and if there was a reason that it was placed here instead of somewhere else.

    But that wasn't what I really needed the information for. There was a partially disassembled computer core in the cargo area of the station. And from what the engineer's notes said it was a stripped down AI from the SDS systems.

    I wanted to use it, but I would need to know some pieces of information first. If the SDS system was the reason that this station was abandoned, then I would have to go with Plan B and simply take the Manassas into known space.

    So I began reading, some of the technical data went over my head, but I understood enough to grasp the basics of how the SDS system worked. Honestly, this universe being the future of the eighties actually helped in some regards, because even though the tech changed in different ways, it meant that I could generally understand the concepts that were utilized.

    What I didn't understand, was just how they managed to get an AI that worked and linked to a network and were able to still operate independently from one another.

    "It's magic," I said after a minute of looking over the specifications for how the SDS transmitters worked. "I have no clue how they managed to get a functional AI defense network that worked off of old data and orders being transmitted."

    "But I don't need this to work off of transmitted and old data," I stroked my beard. "I only need it to run a few automated functions and to help jump the Invader to the where I want to go."

    "So, stop and focus, what do I need from this to make it work?" I asked myself as I looked over the data.

    "I need the AI runtimes to help keep the ship running," I looked at the information. "I don't think I need the whole AI though."

    After a few moments, I set aside the 'Noteputer that the data was on and stood up. I needed to do some thinking before I tried anything.






    "I'm going to have to track down this brand," I looked at the bag of coffee beans that was intact even after all these years. "This is some of the best coffee I've ever had."

    Allowing the infusion of caffeine to help with the exhaustion, I started working on isolating the runtimes that I would need to run the King Henry V, making copies that I transferred over to a computer terminal to run tests on.

    "Test number fifteen," I said as I began to simulate the Jumpship's systems, issuing commands to the basic intelligence and hoping that everything worked as planned.

    Everything ran smoothly at first, the isolated runtimes working as intended until they ran into something that they hadn't been programmed for and shutting down.

    "I'm really glad I took those programming classes in college," I sighed as I stopped the simulation. "It's only another programming language that seems simple until you actually go to learn it…"

    Looking at the failure points, I rested my chin against the cold metal of the desk and exhaled. I was going to be here for a while.

    –
    –

    "Man I need a haircut," I looked in the mirror for the first time in a few months.

    I was already pale before I had been stranded in space, but now I was extremely so, the lack of sunlight doing me no favors. My hair had grown long as well, the bronze curls of my youth coming back and my beard now long enough to braid if I wanted to.

    "I'm a mess," I laughed at my appearance. "I'll trim the beard a bit, but the hair has got to go. Grabbing a grooming kit I had found, I switched on the electric trimmer and began running it over my head, clumps of shorn hair falling to the ground as I began to work at looking like a civilized man again.

    "That's better," I cleaned up the hair and combed my beard, tugging the tangles loose and making sure it was straight before trimming the outer edges and around my lips.

    "I don't look like a homeless bum anymore," I grinned at the man in the mirror. "I'm definitely paying a professional barber once I'm back to civilization though."

    Leaving the bathroom, I got dressed and checked on the terminal I had left running test number twenty.

    "Partial success," I smiled. "So we're at at least fifty percent of the way through figuring this out."

    I sat down and looked at the information before nodding to myself and moving out of the room.

    "I'll try to fix it and try again tomorrow," I moved toward the bunk. "After I find out what's so important about the Messenger."
     
    • Chapter 15
    • Chapter 15

    "One of these things is not like the other," I muttered as I looked closer at the Messenger. "Something is off, externally, it looks like the other two, but it feels like the proportions are all wrong."

    The third aerodyne was just chunky, it was thicker in some places and reinforced in ways that seemed odd. If I were just a regular dockworker, I would probably be too busy to give the ship the close inspection that I was giving it now. But I wasn't a regular dockworker, and I had all of the time in the world to get a closer look.

    "So let's see what you're hiding," I cycled the airlock and waited until the doors opened before stepping into a spacious corridor.

    The Interior of the cargo bay was very similar to that of the Buccaneers that were docked with the Jumpship. But everything else was different. The crew quarters were larger than those on the other two dropships and all had weapons stashed in some hidden compartments. And there was something else off about the internals, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

    "It's obvious that this isn't the same model as the other two," I looked around the bridge. "But I don't know what else is hidden here."

    I sighed and tried to activate some of the computer terminals, only to fail at guessing any of the passwords.

    "I'll come back and try again later," I made to leave before I saw the captain's quarters. "But, I haven't checked in there yet."

    The door slid open with a hiss as I looked around at the lavishly decorated space.

    "Fuckin' nobles," I shook my head at the obvious owner before beginning my search for anything useful or any potential 'noteputers that might have been left behind. The Closet merely contained some uniforms, while the rest of the quarters seemed to have been cleaned out when the dropship was left behind.

    "Ugh," I let myself fall back onto the full bed, the nice sheets and comforter barely softening the feeling of something hard tucked underneath the foam pad that covered the mattress itself.

    Pulling the silk sheets off, I pulled the foam pad up enough to see a 'noteputer stashed underneath, the machine carefully placed so that it wouldn't show from a regular inspection.

    I stroked my beard as I grabbed the machine and tucked it into my small pack, I would find out what information was on there later. I needed to get back to working on my way out of here.





    Two weeks later…

    "Why aren't you working?!" I slammed my fist down on the desk, my gut roiling in rage as I glared at yet another failed simulation.

    Standing up, I went to hurl the computer against the wall before I caught myself.

    "Deep breaths," I inhaled through my nose and counted to ten before exhaling. "It's just a machine. It's just doing its job."

    After some time just breathing, I sat back down and tweaked the runtimes again before standing up and leaving the room. I needed a break from the monotony of programming, and I knew just the way to do it.

    –
    –

    "All systems nominal," Betty informed me as the simulators began to run.

    "Let's go crazy this time," I grinned, even if this simulation was designed to be impossible, I was going to be having fun this time.

    As soon as the drop bay doors opened, I shifted the stock Warhammer to full speed and narrowly evaded a stream of LRMs. An Archer Longbow radiating heat from where they were perched on a hill.

    Squeezing off one of my PPCs, I grinned as the Longbow flinched back, the man-made lightning carving away armor as I cycled and fired my other PPC, the second bolt hitting the joint of the Archer's arm and cutting it away from the heavy 'mech.

    Sliding to a stop, I shifted into the trees, throwing off some of the missiles and scattering the rest on my shoulders as the jungle foliage was shifted by the explosions.

    Peeking out of the trees, I squeezed the trigger on both of the long-range weapons that I had, one of the beams going wide, while the other carved further into the Longbow before finding an ammunition bin, the explosion throwing the Assault 'mech to the ground and marking the machine as 'dead' to my sensors, leaving me to face the more serious opponent of the Archer that had disappeared.

    Ducking underneath the battle fist of the other heavy, I twisted my torso and carved away armor with my medium lasers before my SRMs dug into the holes made by the lasers.

    Then, with a sharp twist of my sticks, I shoved the barrel of my PPC into the cockpit of the Archer before squeezing the trigger. The head vanished as I tore myself away from the wreckage and spun to face the Atlas II that was waiting for me.

    The LB-10X slug shattered sections of my armor, while the lasers carved away at my torso, alarms screeching at me until I turned them off.

    Ducking underneath one of the massive fists of the 100-tonner, I overrode some safeties and aimed for the delicate knee, the armor covering the limb disappearing as my 'Hammer began to overheat while I cycled my lasers to fire again.

    "Got you," I grinned as I shoved the Atlas II back, the knee failing as I stomped my foot into the skull-shaped cockpit.

    Then a Gauss slug punched through what was left of my armor and cored my mech, the lone Highlander standing over me as if taunting me from the grave.

    "Scenario failed," Betty alerted me.

    "I know," I replied, the smile still not leaving my face. "But I still killed an Atlas with a Warhammer. It's a good day."

    As I was climbing out of the sim pod, I remembered why I had gotten in. "Whelp, I've had my fun," I sighed. "Might as well see if I can figure out how to finally get those runtimes fixed.
     
    • Chapter 16
    • Chapter 16

    "I! Hate! This! Stupid! Fucking! Place!" I slammed my bloodied knuckles into the punching bag with every breath. The tape did little to stop the red droplets from dripping down.

    "I just want to go home," I breathed, stilling the punching bag and turning away as the rage left, my gut churning with emotion as exhaustion seeped in. "I'm so tired."

    I shuffled slowly to the door, sweat and blood mingling together on the floor as blood dripped from my knuckles.

    Moving through the hidden base, I eventually stopped at a bathroom and pulled a medkit off of the wall. Then, sitting down on the toilet, I began cleaning my knuckles with an alcohol pad, a slight hiss the only noise I made before I taped my knuckles together with more medical tape and gauze.

    Everything was dull, now that I had spent all of my emotional energy, I felt drained as if I were merely a robot operating in human flesh. Nothing seemed to matter anymore, I wasn't going to be getting out of here. I mean, I couldn't even get the King Henry V to work with the runtimes I had isolated!

    Standing up with a slight groan of pain as my left knee twinged, I left the bathroom and found the nearest bunk. I didn't have the energy for any of this today, maybe things would be different in the morning.

    –
    –

    Things weren't better in the morning. I was still stuck here, and now I was in pain because of yesterday me's stupid choices.

    "Yesterday me was a fuckin' idiot," I swore. "I still have to do the work, now I just get to do it sore, tired, and bloody."

    Climbing out of the bunk I slept in the night before, I figured out my location relative to the mess hall and made my way back there. If I were going to have a bad day, I'd at least start it caffeinated.





    June 7th, 3001. SLDF Hidden Repair and Refit Facility on the border of the Federated Suns and Taurian Concordat

    "And that's two years I've been stuck here," I sipped at my coffee while examining the code that was so close to working.

    "Wait," I leaned forward, spotting an error that I hadn't noticed before. A Definition hadn't been assigned properly. One simple missing closing parenthesis had thrown off the results I had been trying for the last few months. Weeks of pain and headache, all due to one minor error that was left over from the original AI's runtimes.

    "Stuff like this is why I didn't pursue programming as a career," I shook my head as a migraine started to push to the foreground of my mind. "Guess I'll run this again before I deal with this."

    Plugging the corrected runtimes into the jumpship's software, I set it to run the tests before stepping away. I needed to find something to fix this damned headache.

    –
    –

    "You're addictive," I set aside all of the opioids as I dug through the doctor's medicine cabinet on the Manassas. "I just need super aspirin or something. Future of the eighties, don't fail me now."

    There! I found what I was looking for.

    "Thousand milligrams of Ibuprofen, some caffeine, a little bit of B12. I'm thinking this was someone's attempt at a hangover cure, but I'll use it for a migraine instead."

    Swallowing the pill as directed, I tucked the bottle away into my pack while sucking down a bunch of water.

    "I'm going to have faith that those runtimes will work," I muttered as I began to head back to the main cargo bay. "And start transferring the gear and kit that I want over to the King Henry V and her dropships."






    "Information security," I shook my head as I entered the password that the captain of the Messenger had so helpfully written down. "It's not many people's strong suit."

    Typing away, I began devouring the information inside the terminal, the Messenger was important, and for more than one reason.

    The Messenger was a Pueblo class dropship, used by the SLIC to maintain their intelligence networks. It was normally armed to the teeth, more heavily armored than other aerodynes, and able to both transmit and receive classified information with the HPG that was hidden away behind a secret compartment. There were passenger spaces, and cargo spaces as well. The ship being cleverly designed to look and act like a normal trade dropship, it was able to slip by unnoticed by most of the Inner Sphere and Periphery worlds. Collecting data and relaying what information they gained back to Terra.

    Interestingly enough, this ship was part of a larger trade network, and her captain was the sole 'owner' of the larger company, with funding and cash reserves stashed in various banks across the Inner Sphere. And while I knew that some of those accounts would be gone or otherwise inaccessible, I would be able to get access to some of them with the account numbers and passwords that had been stored here.

    It might not sound like much, but it would be a start and would enable me to find and hire those who might be interested in making my basic idea of a mercenary company come true.

    But for now, I needed to focus on what was happening right in front of me.






    "Four 'mechs," I ensured that the four battlemechs I had loaded into the Messenger were tied down properly. "One Warhammer, one Mongoose, a Griffin, and a Crab," I patted the crate that I had brought over. "One crate of SLDF mechwarrior uniforms, one crate of SLDF grade neurohelmets. And enough small arms to arm two companies."

    "Dropships are loaded," I cheered to myself. "Now to make sure all of the trade goods are intact."

    I took a fresh notebook and went over everything with a fine-toothed comb. Every small bolt, the spare parts that I had for the machines at my disposal. Everything had its place.

    "Only thing that's left is to move the simulators over to one of the dropships," I pinched the bridge of my nose at the thought of the hell machines. "I'm gonna regret this, I just know it."

    But, at the thought of finally getting out of here and making contact again, my mood immediately changed, with a fresh wave of energy arriving with the rush of dopamine.

    "Let's just get it done," I said to myself. "Sooner it's finished, the sooner I get to leave and see people again. And I've had enough of being alone for a lifetime."
     
    • Chapter 17
    • Chapter 17

    "Last check," I muttered as I stowed my backpack with all of the gear from home into the captain's quarters on the Messenger. "I've got all of my kit from home here and hidden," I checked off a list with a clipboard I had found. "Accounts and passwords from the previous owners, check. The rest of it needs to be done on the King Henry V."

    As I made my way through the connecting systems onto the Jumpship, I checked off the things that I had already done, from making sure the Manassas' reactor was shut down properly, to doing the same with all of the systems that were active on the base barring the doors and the hydroponics.

    "Sending door code," I said to myself as I sat at the communications station of the Jumpship. "Doors are opening, now I get to settle down for the long haul."

    Jumpships have station-keeping thrusters, and that's about it. It can take weeks, or even months for a Jumpship to travel from a shipyard to the jump point. And, given the relative rarity of modern jumpships, it made sense that you wouldn't want to bring one any closer to an enemy than necessary.

    This meant that a trip that had only taken a day or so while on the Manassas was now going to take me a couple of weeks.

    "Need to figure out where I'm going before I reach the zenith," I muttered as I set up the station-keeping thrusters to head for the general area of the jump point. I would have plenty of time to change course if I were off.

    –
    –

    "I'm about a jump away from the Concordat or the FedSuns," I looked at the map. "FedSuns probably have access to the accounts considering the Messenger and her company were fronting as a company out of there."

    "Pierce looks like my best bet," I noted. "Decently industrialized, quite a few other jumps that are close enough if I need to move on. And a Star League-era recharge station. Or at least there's supposed to be one there."

    I shrugged and put the system at the top of my list. "It's at least a good starting point."

    Nodding to myself, I set up everything and then strapped myself into a sleeping bag I had anchored onto the bridge. Some sleep seemed like a really good idea right now.






    "Alright," I triple-checked the coordinates and other calculations. "Let's try to jump."

    I hit the button and was greeted by a warning notice.

    "I'm an idiot," I facepalmed and let myself float further back. "I forgot that this isn't the Manassas, the K-F drive needs to recharge."

    Hitting a few switches, the solar sails deployed, the material unfolding before the ship.

    "I wish my dad were here to see all of this," I said after a minute. "This is the sort of thing he would have loved to be a part of."

    I sniffled for a minute before drying my eyes and turning to leave the bridge. There was nothing I could do there for now.

    –
    –

    "Put the pain somewhere else," I pushed the bar up, my arms and chest aching from the workout. "Anywhere else."

    Sitting up, I toweled off some of the sweat, before standing and moving to the squat rack, my knee twinging as I hefted the weights onto my shoulder.

    I grunted as I began the leg exercise, the pain in my knee easing out as I settled into the routine of the workout.

    "Four more," I grunted as I worked toward the end of my first set, inhaling deep as I dipped while maintaining my balance before standing back up.

    After finishing the leg workouts, I moved to a treadmill. "Rule number one:" I chuckled. "Cardio."





    One week later…

    "Fuckin' finally," I grinned as the display showed the K-F drive active and ready to go. "Next stop, civilization."

    The King Henry V winked out of existence.

    A nod and a salute from someone in an SLDF uniform as I buried the dead. The ticking of an old clock as time moved on.

    An ornate throne with two sisters prostrate before it as a man glared angrily.

    The image of a Wolf, and its grinning teeth as an Archer filled the air with missiles.

    A strange-looking dropship with a blond woman and her husband on board, the crew mourning as they leave.

    And above it all, was the image of a red hourglass and a redhead glaring into my soul    .

    "Unknown Jumpship, please respond," a female voice repeated over the comms systems. "This is the Janus recharge station, respond or we will consider you hostile and send out an ASF squadron to ensure you're not a threat."

    "This is the King Henry V," I finally leaned over and spoke into the mic. "We suffered a misjump and I only just now managed to get back into known space. Can you tell me what's going on?"

    "King Henry, if that's you, then you've been missing for nearly three hundred years," a shocked voice responded. "You've got permission to dock with Janus, but we'll be asking some questions."

    "Copy that, Janus," I replied. "I'll start steering in your direction."





    "What do we have today, ensign?" Lieutenant Erica Lamb asked as she sipped at her coffee.

    "We're not expecting any jumpships for a couple of weeks, ma'am. Our regulars are out for a bit," Ensign Hall shrugged. "Everything's pretty quiet out there."

    "It's been decades since anything other than pirates or small traders visited," Hall continued. "I doubt we'll have any excitement today."

    "We'll see," Erica replied as she settled into her seat. "Never know what Saint Murphy has waiting for us."

    "Got that right, LT," Hall chuckled as he spun his chair around to face the Officer on Duty.

    The two officers continued to chitchat as they scanned the system and jump point periodically, the four lightweight ASF in their bays on standby as always.

    "Lieutenant!" Hall barked. "You might want to see this."

    "Invader, three dropships," his hands flew across the controls. "Can't make out the relative mass."

    "I'll start hailing them," Erika sat down in her chair. "Have our fighters on Standby. I'll wake the Captain."
     
    • Chapter 18
    • Chapter 18

    "Take it slow and steady, King Henry," a female voice instructed as I slowly approached the charging station. "You're on a good course for docking."

    "Copy that, Janus," I responded as I gripped the sticks. "Just feed me course corrections if I screw it up."

    There was a gaping pit in my stomach as I watched the station slowly become larger in the viewport, my heart pumped loudly, and blood rushed into my ears as my senses narrowed down to the controls and the docking point.

    The ship rocked slightly as I touched the controls, bringing the King Henry to a stop as docking clamps held onto the side and an airlock extended.

    I sat there and breathed in, and out. Trying to control the sea of emotions that stormed inside.

    "I'm good," I unstrapped myself and exhaled, nodding to myself as I shunted the emotions to the side. "I can do this."

    -
    -

    Standing by the airlock, the passageway pressurized and the doors slid open.
    "Permission to come aboard?" I asked as I stopped before the threshold of the station, tears barely held back as I looked at the trio that were waiting.

    "Permission granted," a slightly familiar voice answered. "Welcome aboard the Janus, mister?"

    "Mark Hull," I choked out. "I'm Mark Hull."

    Seeing people and hearing voices that weren't through a speaker finally did me in, I fell to my knees and began to weep.

    "Please tell me you're real," I whispered. "I don't think I'll go on for much longer if y'all are just another hallucination."

    "We're very real," a man chuckled. "And boy do you have some questions to answer."






    "I just got back from checking the family records. Any luck with Comstar?" Captain Mendez asked.

    "Most of his story checks out," Lieutenant Lamb replied. "We can see that some hasty repairs were made to the Helium seals. And the Jumpship is an exact match for the records that Comstar has of the ship. Hull himself doesn't show up on those records, but employment records for single owner mechant Jumpships weren't exactly things that they kept after the Succession Wars started."

    "Truth is stranger than fiction," Mendez shook his head as he snickered. "So we've got a time traveling merchant who hasn't interacted with people in years."

    "Yeah, that wasn't in any of the training I got, sir," Lamb snarked back. "I'm supposed to deal with pirates and idiots. Not people who are having emotional breakdowns at the sight of people. And to think, you thought it was a ghost ship."

    "In my defense, my family has some pretty crazy reports from the last few hundred years. And in his defense, we were the first people he's seen in nearly two years if his story is true," Mendez pointed out. "And at this point, it's kinda hard to disprove his story."

    "It'd be easier if he weren't a mess every time we asked to meet with him," Erika sighed. "He's getting there, but I think it'll take him a few weeks before he's able to have a solid conversation for more than a few minutes at a time."

    "Guy hasn't had anything to speak to aside from some simulators on board for a few years," Mendez shook his head. "I'd be a wreck too. Anyway, we'll give him a few more days to get acclimated. But, I'm about to mark his story as legit and allow him to start trading. He's still got goods that would be plenty valuable down on Pierce, after all."

    "Well, I'm near the end of my contract," Lamb shrugged. "Want me to tag along with him?"

    "If you're willing," Mendez replied. "I know you're aiming to leave the system once your contract is up, but I'd appreciate it if you did me that as a last favor."





    A few days previously…

    "We're very real," Captain Mendez chuckled. "And boy do you have some questions to answer."

    The man grabbed onto the first person and latched on, sobbing the whole time.

    "You're okay," Ensign Hall glared at Lieutenant Lamb from the hug he was wrapped in, his wiry frame disappearing behind the bearded bear that had come out of the Jumpship. "Some help, LT?"

    "I think you're doing fine," Erika patted the junior officer on the back. "I'd just let him cry it out. Seems like the guy's been through a lot."

    Looking behind her, she saw Captain Mendez jerk his head over to the docked Jumpship.

    "Let's see where the rest of the crew is," Mendez said once they were out of earshot. "I doubt he's the only one, and this screams of someone trying to get a foothold into the system."

    "I don't know, boss," Erika glanced back at where poor Ensign Hall was still stuck. "That guy seems pretty messed up."

    The two stepped out into the hallway of the Jumpship and noted how quiet everything was, the empty hallways curving their way through.

    "Where is everyone?" Erika asked as she moved to the bridge. "It's incredibly difficult to get a Jumpship moving alone, that's the kind of scenarios that generate nightmares for spacers."

    "Don't I know it," Mendez shifted behind her, a chill going down his spine. "Lieutenant, I don't think we belong here," Mendez shook his head and pushed off back into the airlock while making the sign of the Cross. "This is a ghost ship. I'll not have anything to do with it."

    "You're scared of ghosts?" Erika asked when they were safely back on the station.

    "My family has owned this station for generations," Mendez replied. "I am convinced that there is more out here in the void than anyone could have predicted. My pops used to show me records of some of his sensor ghosts. Full Taurian Battlegroups that seem there but then vanish, strange signals that seem to be generated from nowhere. You name it, we've seen it. So yeah, a ghost ship with one survivor? I am absolutely certain that it's possible."

    "Whatever you say, boss," Erika shrugged. "You're in charge here."

    "Thank God," Hall said once he saw them again. "He fell asleep, but I don't know how to move him without potentially hurting him."

    "We'll get him a bunk," Mendez helped shift the stranger. "I'm sure he's got quite a story to tell once he wakes up."
     
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    • Chapter 19
    • Chapter 19
    August 10, 3001

    "I would love to give you access to the accounts that still exist," I waited for the rest of the transmission to conclude. "But given the size of some of the said accounts, I'm not at liberty to discuss withdrawals not changes in investments over communications such as this. I can have a temporary spend account granted to you when you reach the spaceport though."

    "Thank you," I hid my displeasure. "I'll be sure to stop by the HPG station and get some of this straightened out once I'm able to reach the ground."

    "Not a great thing to hear," Mendez grinned as he entered the comms room that he had been letting me use.

    "Yeah," I sighed, "Tell me about it. Thanks for letting me use the facilities here, I'm sure that you could have opened them up to someone else for a better profit."

    "I think you need the help more than most people I've had come through here," the man shrugged. "I've managed to talk Erika into going to Pierce with you. And I've sent a message to my old man," Mendez looked me in the eye. "I know it's a lot, but you're gonna have to trust someone to watch the King Henry for you while you conduct business down below."

    "You've done right by me," I nodded. "I'll trust that you've got someone trustworthy in mind,' I reached out to shake his hand. "But if someone steals my ship, I'm coming back, and we're gonna have issues if I have to come back."

    "That's fair," Mendez agreed. "Just 'member to treat Erika right, she's been looking forward to getting out of the system for the last decade."

    "I'll give her the option of running with me or if she wants me to drop her off somewhere else. But no promises beyond that."






    "Permission to come aboard?" Erika asked as she stopped at the airlock.

    "Permission granted," I grabbed her bags and helped her onto the Jumpship. "Sorry for freaking you and the ensign out last month."

    "You've gotta stop apologizing so damn much," Erika shook her head. "We understand why you were a little bit crazy."

    "Still, I owe all of you. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

    "You're my ticket out of here," Erika chuckled. "You don't owe me anything."

    "Sure," I showed her to her new quarters. "We'll go with that. Anyway, take your time to get comfortable. We've got a few weeks before this ship even gets anywhere close to Pierce."

    "Alright then," Erika replied. "I've got some reading to catch up on anyway. Just let me know if you need help with anything."

    "I should be fine for now," I turned to leave for the bridge. "Let me know if you need a comms channel open or something."

    –
    –

    "I didn't expect y'all to reach out so soon," I waited for my message to be received at the HPG on the planet.

    "The Precentor wants to speak to you," a bored man in Comstar robes yawned. "And it's the end of my shift, I'll transfer you over now."

    "Hello," a gray-haired, nearly balding man greeted me from the screen. "I'm Precentor Reginald Winfrey, and I'm so very excited to meet you!"

    "Might I ask why?" I raised an eyebrow and waited.

    "Why of course! I've long been a student of advanced astrophysics and K-F theory, got my doctorate at the University in Geneva on Terra," the man paused to inhale before continuing. "And while most of my days are spent running this station, there's not a chance in hell that I'd let the chance of a lifetime slip by me. I'd like to meet with you once you're on the planet, I'll even ensure that you're moved up to the top of the list for things to compensate you for your time. But you're an eyewitness to one of the greatest phenomena of our universe, and I would have failed as a scientist if I did not take this chance."

    Normally, this is where I would be skeptical. Comstar had a… Reputation from what I remembered of trolling the various threads on Spacebattles. One that normally would have meant I should be cautious of any moves they made. But this man was older, his hair had long since faded into the silver shine of those who were wise, and his eyes shined with the look of someone who had finally met something he'd been looking for all along.

    "I think I can make some time to speak with you," I smiled a bit. "I'm supposed to stop in at the HPG for a bit anyway."

    "Thank you so much!" the older man grinned wide. "I look forward to seeing what insights you have into the field that I've never thought of before."

    "Have a good one, Precentor," I chuckled as the communication shut down.

    "He seems like fun," Erika floated onto the bridge.

    "I think he's just excited to be practicing science," I shrugged. "You need something?"

    "Yeah," Erika grabbed ahold of one of the stops. "Why do you only have really old Star League Rations on board?"

    "I've also got some fish and potatoes growing in the hydroponics bay," I replied. "I can get some of that cooked up for you."

    "Yes, please. I'm not sure how you've been alive if you've only eaten those rations for this long."

    "You eat what you have to," I unstrapped myself. "Come on, let's get some grub."






    "Thank you for being willing to take a shuttle up," I greeted Mendez's father. "Your son speaks highly of you."

    "It is not every day that you meet one of the many sensor ghosts that we've recorded," the old man grinned, the gray eating away at the dark remnants of his brown hair. "I'll look after the ship for you. You get your business done.

    "I'm trusting you with this," I locked eyes with the older Mendez. "This ship is all that I have left, please don't let anything happen to her."

    "I'll treat her as if she were my own station," the man promised. "I swear it before God himself that I will not break this bond."

    "Thank you," I shook his hand. "I'm counting on you."

    "The Lord has seen you through a great trial," Mendez turned serious. "He does not forsake as easily as some are prone to thinking."

    "Sure," Erika scoffed in the background. "Don't start that with me again, old man."

    "She doesn't like how much faith I have," Mendez winked. "But one day she will understand!" he raised his voice loud enough for her to hear.

    "I'd forgotten what the old man was like," Erika rolled her eyes as she boarded the Messenger after me. "He's a bit of a nutcase, but he's reliable and trustworthy if nothing else. If he says he's gonna do something, you can consider it done."

    "Alright then," I eased myself into the pilot's chair of the aerodyne as Erika strapped herself in. "Next stop, Pierce."
     
    • Chapter 20
    • Chapter 20

    “Work on your angles for next time,” Erika sighed as she unstrapped herself, the Messenger touching down on the spaceport’s runway. “That shudder worried me for a minute.”

    “She’s a tough girl,” I patted the console in front of me. “But I’m not planning on being the one flying next time. I’ve only ever used Jumpships, so this was a new thing for me.”

    “Probably a sound idea,” Erika gave me a thumbs up and staggered out of the cockpit. “Now, you’ll probably want some sort of sunglasses. Real sunlight is a lot different from what you’ve been used to for the past few years.

    “Got ‘em right here,” I held up the pair that was stuffed into a pocket. “I think I’ll change out of the suit though, something more casual seems like it might be the better option.”

    “Might want to take a shower too,” Erika nodded. “But you’re going to want to deal with Customs and the docks first. Otherwise, you’ll be paying fines.”

    “Okay,” I nodded, showing her the way to the small personnel ramp. “Let’s get this sorted out.”

    “I take it you’re the owner of this ship, here?” A man in a pair of grease-stained overalls and an old cowboy hat stepped forward and shook my hand.

    “Yessir,” I met his eyes. “Is there something I can help you with?”

    “Aye, I’m Mitchel Brown, the local inspector. Your docking fees have already been covered by Comstar’s local Precentor. But you’ll still have to declare your manifest. We’re mostly an agricultural world around here, so any plants’ll have to be inspected by one of our people.”

    “Had an issue before, I take it?” I asked as my eyebrows shot up.

    “All say,” he chuckled. “Had a merchant a few years back accidentally bring over an invasive weed. It’s got a pretty flower, so some poor fool bought it for his girl, ‘for the end of the month we had to start actively exterminating the damned thing. We just managed it last year, and we’re not eager to have a repeat.”

    “Well,” I laughed. “I don’t got any produce, been subsisting off of MREs for a while, and not the good ones.”

    “I know what you mean,” He accepted the manifest. “Looks like you’ve got quite a bit of machinery here,” he nodded to himself. “Might have some local farmers or industrial types that’ll be looking to trade you for ‘em.”

    “Gotta get some stuff straightened out with Comstar first, Mr. Brown.”

    “Well, I’ll let y’all get on your way,” the man tipped his hat and walked off. “Just gimme a holler if you need anything, now.”

    “Will do,” I turned and walked back into the dropship. “Erika, I’m gonna take a shower and get changed, you can go head on to whatever business you had. I’ll meet you back at the dropship in a week or so to discuss what plans I have before heading on out.”

    “Sounds good to me,” Erika walked down the ramp with a jaunty wave.

    “Mitchel, you old dog!” She greeted the inspector. “I thought you’d retired years ago…”






    “I’m Mark Hull,” I woke up the guard at the HPG station from where he was snoring away. “I was asked to speak with your Precentor Winfrey.”

    “What?!” The man started awake, his sidearm nearly falling out of his holster as he stood up rapidly. “Oh,” he looked at me for a minute as his brain turned over. “You got an appointment?”
    “I’m not actually sure,” I shrugged, keeping my opinion on his readiness to myself. “Your Preceentor asked to meet with me.”

    “Let me check in with the guys inside,” he reached for a radio, “No funny business now, I’ve got my eyes on you.”

    “If I’d wanted to try something, it would have been while you were snoring,” I muttered under my breath.

    “Alright, you can head on in,” the man waved me through. “Follow the signs or ask someone for help if you get lost. But don’t go wandering, understand?”

    “I think I can figure it out,” I walked through the now-open gate, and made my way through the small garden that was spaced between the main complex and the outer walls.

    “Mr. Hull?” a robed woman asked, a clipboard in hand as I injured the main doors.

    “Yes, ma’am,” I replied. “That’s me.”

    “Follow me, please,” She turned, her gray robes shifting and concealing her figure. “The Precentor has been eager to speak with you for most of the week.”

    “I’m not that important,” I chuckled. “I’m just lucky where others weren’t.”

    “Speaking of which,” she stopped and turned to face me. “I’m the one who has been tasked with assisting you with reclaiming the accounts that you have access to. Once you have finished speaking with Precentor Winfrey, we will begin going over the process that is required before you can utilize the assets that you ‘technically’ have access to.”

    “Thank you,” I smiled. “I’m glad that something worked out in the fucking mess that is my life.”

    “I wouldn’t count on that yet,” She laughed. “You haven’t seen the paperwork you have to fill out yet.”

    “Fair enough,” I walked through the door she indicated.

    “Precentor, you’ve got a guest,” she knocked on the door.

    “Oh! He’s here!” the man stood up from his desk and shook my hand profusely. “Please, come in and take a seat. Can I get you anything to drink? Oh, the questions I have for you.”

    –
    –

    “You’re a miracle in the world of K-F theory,” Winfrey grinned as he pulled out an old faded notebook. “Now, please start telling me your story. I’m hoping that even a layman such as yourself may have observed something that will change the world as we know it.”

    “Well, it all started when…”






    “You alright?” The woman met me at the door of the office. “Sorry about him, he’s not normally so energetic.”

    “It’s fine,” I smiled and stretched. “The man seems very eager to explore science, I almost feel bad for him. Chained here to a desk instead of doing research.”

    “Most of us are here at this station because we made someone on Terra mad,” she led me to her own office. “The border between the Suns and the Concordat isn’t exactly a dream posting.”

    “I bet,” I chuckled as I sipped at my water bottle. “Now, you said something about paperwork, Miss?”

    “Rose,” she responded. “And I already have your name, Mr. Hull as well as the account numbers that you provided me with. In order to access them, I’m going to need a bit more than that though. These accounts were absorbed by Comstar after the fall of the Terran Hegemony, and while we’ve kept decent records, there are still some steps that we have to go through for accounts that have been mostly inactive aside from the automatic investments that had been started before the Succession Wars started.”

    “Well, Miss Rose, just tell me what I need to fill out and we’ll get started,” I sighed. “I’d rather get all of this stuff out of the way now than later when I’m in a rush to do something.”

    “We’re going to be here a while,” the Acolyte replied. “I’ll order a pizza or something.”

    “That would be great,” I began looking at the stack set before me. “Just a plain pepperoni or something, I’m not sure I can handle more than that at the moment. It’s been a while.”

    “I’ll get that called in while you look through the fine print,” Rose nodded. “I’ll be back in a few moments.”
     
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