[dcs_p]“Well it wasn’t long after we had made orbit that we noticed a few peculiar
things.” Harry’s voice calmed. “For starters, our initial scans of the area showed
what appeared to be a space station on the opposite side of the planet. That in
itself contradicted the data provided by our employers. While no spacecraft were
positioned to guard the station or intercept us, we did pick up enemy radio
chatter during our drop planetside. Though a lot of it was coded, some civilian
channels murmured something about a ship being endangered.” Harry paused,
finally looking down to his plate. He took a bite and frowned.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Navin smiled briefly at his grandfather’s reaction to the food. Then he looked
back behind himself to see if anyone had picked up any of their conversation. He
guessed his grandfather had been watching for anyone’s approach while telling
the tale. That would explain Harry’s blank stare out across the room, considering
his head had been tilted up just enough to scan the entire area behind their table
with his peripheral vision. When Navin looked back to his grandfather, the man’s
eyes had already returned to the blank stare out into the bar’s central area.
After several seconds of chewing, Harry continued though food was yet in his
mouth. “Dropping into the area that was designated to be a future staging base
later in our campaign, we set up a long range communications network by
capturing a nearby town’s transmitter tower.” He paused again, this time to
swallow.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Suddenly Harry’s eyes broke free from their blank stare and quickly focused on
something. After a moment of observation, he seemed to relax again. His voice
was unchanged when he continued to speak.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Unfortunately the transmitter was a decoy and after capturing it we learned it
would provide no additional broadcasting power. That was our first realization
that something very suspicious was up. Without a way to contact the Breakers
half, whom had already engaged an enemy outpost days earlier, we decided to
send out a force. Ace went against the contract guidelines again, given the
situation and all, and split the Hueys into two teams.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]”Two lances were stationed as guards for the staging site and the other lance
traveled to the next continent with hopes of making contact with the Breakers
upon arrival.” Harry paused for a short moment, closing his eyes while he
gathered his thoughts. “We were all expecting the worst at that point,” he said as
he finally opened his eyes. “We weren’t too far off.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Navin watched his grandfather curiously. He realized that this night’s story was
different than the usual tales he had heard. His grandfather, too, was different
tonight. The man looked so serious. When telling about his experiences, he
normally used a combination of jokes and body language. In this case, Navin
could spot neither. The minimal body language Harry emitted tonight was not
directed towards Navin, or anyone else for that matter. It only displayed a strong
sense of caution and fear.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]“Llana’s Breakers had landed in a trap. And though that trap was probably crude
and simple, it was terribly effective nonetheless. Outnumbered by a group of
pirates that were guarding the landing zone, the Breakers were believed to have
been annihilated en masse. Though their enemies had no-doubtedly outnumbered
them by three times, the Breakers probably should have fared better than they
did. Because of the sheer destruction of their force, Ace believed the pirates
must have been organized enough to kill all of the Breaker commanders quickly
and efficiently.”[/dcs_p]