Blood on the Horizon
- Chapter 9 -[]
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The Need for a new Hobby[]
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 Fedsuns' ration packs and started heating it. "I hope the reputation holds up."
Tests of the NightHawk[]
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Nighthawk Power Armor
"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."
Sweet and Tears in Simulated Combat[]
"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.
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Crab Medium 'Mech
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!"
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Warhammer Heavy 'Mech
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?"
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Catapult Heavy 'Mech on the move
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 destroyed."}}
"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."
Elusive dreams after jumping through Hyperspace[]
"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.