Blood on the Horizon
- Chapter 8 -[]
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Stomp off into the Dark[]
"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.
Rumble in the Simulator Jungle[]
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.
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Atlas Assault 'Mech
"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 man-made lightning moved through the forest, only to splash harmlessly against a tree branch before it approached its target.
Nightstar Assault 'Mech
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.
Now we Wait[]
"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.