[dcs_p]John Cadbury, a 47 year old medium-class Mech pilot, looked into Michelle’s
eyes, “You are right Michelle. We do have to leave here. It’s terrible to say, but
I think the only way out of here is by capturing a pirate Dropship.” John looked to
the other three Mechwarriors for other ideas, but the group held their tongues.
He gently prompted them to speak, “Any ideas folks?”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Among the three, only Tom Wilkins was willing to add. “Yeah I ‘pect your right
bot that.” Tom shook his head sadly. “but that’s iposimble.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Tom’s strange slur only added to Michelle’s discomfort. She had always felt
strange listening to Tom. The man had a way of looking in one’s eye that just
grabbed attention. Michelle felt goosebumps raising along her forearms. She
shivered once again.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Suddenly the wind came up, blowing nearby Kusga leaves about the team’s
camp. A low howl could be heard, like a Terran wolf crying through the night in
search of its lost pup. A second breeze brought stinging mist to Michelle’s
exposed face and hands. The scattered leaves flew past the campsite, flying
south deep into the forest’s dark enclosure. Michelle turned and looked to the
north. The white wall of mist seemed closer yet in the weak beam of her
flashtorch. She gripped the torch in her left hand with immense strength in an
attempt to relieve some tension. Looking to the ground, she noticed leftover
Kusga leaves that had somehow cemented themselves to the ground, unmoved
by the cold gusts of wet air. Scrunching her nose in confusion, Michelle turned
back to the campsite once Jack Kirby began to speak.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Jack was an average joker. Though he was normally good humored and fishing
for laughs, his personality had been lost along with the rest of Llana’s Breakers.
He knew not how to carry himself, nor did it occur to him that he might try to
comfort his teammates. Jack now mumbled, “My Javelin’s left arm is missing. I
don’t think I’ll be much help in combat without that large laser. I doubt we can pull
off taking a Dropship when my Mech is 50% combat efficient.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]John looked to Jack. “Jack you don’t worry about that. We can pull off this
takeover if we have to, even without our Mechs. We’ll see to it that we’re off this
planet with or without our machines.” John always called his Mech his machine.
“Besides Jack,” John spoke, just as he was interrupted by a loud rustling noise.
A soft squeak came from behind Michelle to the north. The high pitched noise
startled everyone. With flashtorches pointed north, John continued, “We don’t
worry about that now, Jack. I think we should all get back in our Mechs. Being
unfamiliar with the locals, its safest we get in our machines.”[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]As the group gathered their gear quickly, another squeak was heard. This time
the sound was much closer, but the squeak softer. Michelle grabbed her fanny
pack and began to run towards her Mech. The Mechs were 10 meters away,
deeper into the forest and powered down to protect against the event of an
enemy patrol.[/dcs_p]
[dcs_p]Suddenly the forest floor in front of Michelle came to life. Individual leaves began
bounding out of the pile, hopping like Terran grasshoppers to land upon the
Mechwarriors. Grasping one of the rubbery creatures, Michelle pulled it off and
threw it to the ground. The creature’s back became an incandescent green as it
hit the soft earth. Those still attached to her glowed much the same. Michelle
heard another squeak. This time the source was very close.[/dcs_p]