His Right Hand
- Chapter 6 -[]
<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
Clearing the hostiles[]
Turbline star system, Periphery
3127
Deback felt the wind on the little Celestial OmniMechs back. The thing moved unlike any mech he had ever piloted. It was like battle armor but better. Scans from orbit and scouting teams had located a horde on the other side of the mountain range that Corden first had landed in years ago. Soon he would get to test it out and report back to the scientists.
Two other choir mates had come with him. Just in case there was a break down of the unit so he could be extracted. They were also in cherubs. They had elected to not bring battle armor as to not stress the myomers. The next excursion of extermination they would try Asuras.
"I got the horde two clicks out." came Phantom Adept Beta Mills.
"Good, I will be the spear. I want Mills to go to the right side and pick off any that break off. They will likely charge me as I come in. That will be where you come in Alpha Hans. Let do this."
Deback powered up the little celestial to max speed and pushed for the horde. They didn't even notice him when he shot by. Him and Hans ripped open on the damned things with sixteen recoilless rifles. They didn't aim. They just pointed at the rear and used speed to essentially strafe them. Half of the group had been decimated and more maimed by the time they zipped by. Deback pushed the little mech more then power turned in place to see what the horde was doing.
The hate filled species was charging him. On his command the three little mechs launched their rocket 10 packs into the charging left overs. Decimation shunted them and they did what he didn't expect. They ran.
"Everyone split off and hunt down what you can. Try not to get close where they can get a hold of you. Next time half choirs of battle armor mounted on us might be the plan."
They had spent an hour clearing the area. When they made it back to the maimed hordes location, they took their time picking off what was left. Recoilless rifle, foot, and 'mech hand were used to dispatch them all. Deback then marked the area for corpse harvesting for teeth, spines, and claws. His report would cite the little Celestials were a great addition to the Word. Just that in combat against mechs, they wouldn't stand a chance. Mop up operations though he for saw a good niche for them.
Then something pinged on his sensors over to the north to where woods were. Indications of something metallic. Intrigued Deback and company made their way to the forest. Inside the place was dark and Deback wondered if they should enter. Caution got the better of him as he scanned the area using his BVDNI and multi modal eye. More night haunts lurked in the forest.
<<"Deback to Interdictor, Blake's Light, what is your position in orbit."
"We are a few minutes out from your position. I assume orbital bombardment.">>
"Yes, orbital bombardment. However I have sensor readings on something metallic in this area. I estimate 3 clicks out. I don't want to hit it. There is a horde near my position in this forest and they are not coming out. I suspect the breed that hates light and are sitting ducks."
"I have your position and I am picking up on the metallic object. It is not in the woods but on the other side. I can hit them and not hit the object."
"Do it."
Minutes later, sub capital lasers came down on the woods. Fires ignited and the woods turned into an inferno. Deback smiled as he saw flaming night haunts darting out of the woods. His team put them down as they came near.
"Blake's Light, can you walk the orbital fire towards the object making a path?"
<<"Yes, just it will be more difficult as we approach not to hit it.">>
"Do it. We will walk in the sun light as you make room for us."
The forest disappeared as the light beams came down. Walking through the rough terrain, Deback noted the remains of more night haunts as they walked towards their objective. Then the forest line broke into a larger clearing.
"Blake's Light. We are now thru. Remain in position to feed what we find to base. Also doubt we will need orbital support, but you never know."
The last kilometer made was easily done. No hostiles and no oddities. Then Deback found what he was looking for. The metallic source was in fact an ancient DropShip. He had found one of the original vessels that had come from the primitive DropShip. The condition of it wasn't the best of shape.
"Deback to Wraith Tau Artechok and Zombie Tau Riddick. Bring Bolla 5 out to my location. See tactical map for best route. Bring a Se'irim squad standard also."
Investigating an Ancient Wreck[]
It took about half a day for Bolla 5 to arrive. Dusk was rapidly approaching. That did not concern Deback as their blessings would make the night none existant when it came. As the tank came to a stop, Tau Zombies and Se'irim disembarked and formed a perimeter. Weapons fire came here and there from some hidden night haunts. Half an hour was spent before Deback popped the hatch on the cherub he had borrowed.
He slid down the short chain link and made for an empty Se'irim suit. It was like a family reunion. He slid into the armor like a glove. Connecting his BVDNI he fired up the battle armor in seconds and was moving without the prerequisite start up procedures.
"Welcome everyone. I suspect we have found a primitive DropShip that the original stranded humans landed on. I want to search and clear it before Bolla 2 comes with support personal. Lets make it quick and thorough. We will be in close quarters so make sure you know to use your vibro claws. Lets go."
The exterior of the primitive DropShip was covered by vines and other bushes. It had sunk into the ground over the centuries. Rust was evident on the craft, but it had held up under the elements nonetheless. They circled it and determined there were a few entrances that were left open. They would hit the two they had found and move thru out the vessel.
Deback took point and ignited the search light. A hiss came and Deback put it down. Even in this testament to mankinds past the things desecrated it. Soon it would be free of taint. The hallways were more compact than he had experienced on a DropShip. Owing to the technological needs of space in the older days Deback had to reassess the situation. He couldn't be on point. He had to be back up. So Tau Riddick started to coordinate his platoon.
Message from Yesterday[]
Tau Riddick was glad to be back in action. The blessings he had received had been a grueling time of boredom due to rest and healing. In the end they had upgraded some of his augments and he was slightly stonger and faster. He maintained the ranged weapon edge he enjoyed, but here. Here was claustrophobic. He was on 2nd point when he suspected he found the directions to the bridge. The night haunts were few, but visious nonetheless. His team did their duty and cleared the wreck as best as they could. Upon coming to the door of the bridge, Riddick had one of his squad open the door and it gave a CREAAAAKKKK....
Riddick raised his Mauser 1200 and pointed in various directions slicing the pie in the room. It was totally trashed and there were no threats. Word came in that the engineering room had been cleared and the cargo bay was the last place to go. He recommended Deback take that place as it was more spacious and would allow the battle armor more clearance. Minutes past and then thumps of SRM and recoilless rifle came. Then an all clear.
"Good work everyone. No casualties but a few injuries. Bolla 2 is now free to come. Tau Zombies remain here to prevent any incursions into this wreck. Wraith Tau Atechok setup a camp and watch posts for any stray night haunts. More will come due to the smell of fresh kills. Out."
Riddick slung his rifle and started looking over the wrecked bridge. That is when he noticed the scattered bones and damage via claws. He looked at the door again and it had been sheered open. He played the scene out in his mind. The crew here had made a last stand against the night haunts. There must be more to this scene. He looked around and then noticed a blinking light.
"Anyone in engineering. Can you confirm if the fusion engine on the wreck is still active?"
Minutes past and then the response came.
<("By Blake. The fusion engine is in fact still functioning. It is set for minimal power and fuel is at low. We could refill it with some hydrogen from Bolla 2 or 5 and power it up a little more perhaps.")>
"That is a task for the support personal. Do not mess with it. Riddick out."
The blinking red light was too much. So he looked it over. It appeared to be connected to a vidscreen. Riddick blew off the dust and saw what was likely a play button.
"Deback, you will want to see what is here on the bridge."
<<"Dismounting and coming back.">>
Deback looked at the blinking light and was so tempted to hit it. Behind him personal from Bolla 2 were arriving and starting to crowd the bridge. Present were Deback, Aaron, Anne, and Riddick. With everyone here he didn't hesitate to hit the button. A video popped up on an old monitor.
//"This is Captain Herb Spencer. This is my last entry. We are trapped on the bridge with those damned night hunters. They are at the door and trying to make a way in. The distraction we setup I hoped worked so that the others could escape to the caves we discovered a few days trek from here. Whoever reads this I hope they made it. If not, good luck as you have fallen to the fate we have."\\
//"This system is cursed. We misjumped and lost many to what we can only called the displacement. Only then to land on this planet and then found we were not alone. It has been a fight for survival since."\\
//A bang came at the door.\\
//"We were able to scout out the surrounding areas and make due with the weapons we had on hand. Every encounter we had with the night hunters resulted us killing them all, but we would take casualties or someone would be maimed. Hopefully the caves will allow us to survive here. Us, we will never know if our distractions worked."\\
//The door flew open and motions indicated night haunts had entered.\\
//"I regret nothing I have done in my life. I..."\\
//The captain's head flies off his shoulder as a night haunt of different form takes the captain out. Screams are heard and motion is seen on the static camera. Five minutes goes by before the screen goes dead from lack of motion detection."\\
"His sacrifice wasn't in vain. We lived because of him." said Aaron the guide.
"We have records of about where the main ship came down but never had the means to find it. Thank you, Deback."
"No, thank Corden and Blake. Corden for allowing mankind to conquor this planet. Blake for guiding my hand here. You said main ship? There were others?"
"Yes, written records tell of two others. Two landed here. The other was never accounted for and thought lost."
"Hold on. There might be other humans alive on Turbline?"
"If they had followed the same plans and procedures they might have. There are no signs of settlements when we were using the lost DropShip, but if they set up in caves like we did. They would be underground."
Deback pondered the question. If there were other humans here they would also need to be freed from the horrors. The subsequent volcanic activity and earthquakes would also have endangered them.
"All ships in orbit. Begin deep scans of the other two continents. Look for caves, signs of old DropShip wreck, human activity of primitive levels far under what the towns have. We might be needed else where. Blake provide light for us."
Search for Survivors[]
It took weeks of scanning but something was found on one of the other two continents. It was far more rocky and mountainous and scans finally found a metallic like oddity that would qualify as a downed craft. The item in question was on a plateau and indications gave that there was some sort of pathing from human settlement around it. Why it had never been found was attributed to never needing to actually look for other human settlements. Deback dispatched a pair of shade aerospace fighters to examine the area...
"Shade 1 to Deback, we are in route. How close do you want us to get to this location? We can nap of the earth or even observe from a distance."
"Shade 1, use your discretion. We are in a 1st encounter event with people that might not have technology before. Observe and report."
"Rodger"
Shade 1 and 2 were over the site in about an hour. They circled from a high distance using minimal thrust to keep over the location. Over time they noticed activity exiting and entering the wreck. There was indeed human life here. From what they could tell, the humans here were farming on the plateau in fields. There were no fortifications and it appeared the plateau was high up in the mountain range.
>>"Shade 1 to Deback. We definitely have found something here. Advise Wraith insertion for further study. We are getting low on fuel and heading back to the Belfree. Out."<<
Wraith Tau Atechok affixed the oxygen rebreather and waited at the cargo bay door. His team lined up behind him waiting for the signal to go. Five minutes past and the signal came. Out the airlock they went as the DropShip maintained its station over their target. Airless space met him and horizon curvature filled his vision. Then it started to flatten and he started to feel gravity taking hold. His heads up display on his mask showed timing for parachute deployment and the minutes counted down. The signal came and with a CHUNK he felt the chute open. They guided themselves down in the middle of the night to the target. The mountains looked absolutely desolate and filled with dangerous peaks. The fact that there was a flat plateau here was highly unusual. The ground was coming up and the team aimed in at their final vector.
Atechok landed and hit the chute release. It flew off into the distance and over the edge of a cliff. The rest of the team did so in unison and let their chutes disappear into the night. Mimetic cloaks engaged and the team spread out. There was absolutely no movement. They examined the ground and there was for sure human activity. There were make shift dirt roads and planted crops through out. Atechok's nose told him everything he needed to know what the soil was made from as he wretched. They made their rounds and located no living structures but managed to find shacks and sheds. Inside they found farming implements and other such hand tools.
Then they approached the DropShip. It had been weathered by centuries and there were no holes in it. There was some patch work here and there of different grades of metal. Some looked like it had been beaten flat and then some how attached here and there. There were two bay doors and three man sized ones. The bay doors looked sealed and had never been opened. The man sized ones though had seen extensive use. From the shade reports there were humans here, but not right now.
<)"Atechok to Deback. This place is a ghost town. There is no living structures however I suspect that anyone here is using the DropShip wreck as the living quarters. Crops are being grown from night haunt dung and there are shacks full of implements. Advise."(>
"Remain on site and stick to the out skirts. Watch their patterns, see if you can also catch conversations and such. Memetic cloaks should serve you well. Out."
Day break came in four hours. The doors opened about a half hour afterwards and people came out. They were armed with primitive weapons. Daggers, spears, and what ever else it appeared they scavenged. They wore leather skins that was for sure night haunt hide. They spread out looking at the land. Looking for something. After fifteen minutes they made motions and noise and others came out. Weapons went back into the DropShip and day to day activities began. Farming, running around, playing games, and whatever else they needed to do to survive. This went on for the majority of the day. Then night approached and they went into the DropShip and closed the doors.
Atechok figured this was the day to day activity. They setup camp at the furthest point behind some rough cover. They ate, slept in shifts, and recharged batteries from solar cells. When day break came the same activity happened. People exited with their hand weapons, looked around, then proceeded to go about their day. The wraiths remained in place reporting to Deback for a week. Then the pattern changed.
A night haunt or two had climbed up on the plateau. They sniffed and searched and then laid low. Atechok was conflicted in what to do in this case. It was clear an ambush was setup, but these people had lived here for centuries. They clearly knew what they were doing so he observed. Come morning they came out of the DropShip and scanned around. After five minutes, Atechok knew that something was different. They pointed at where the night haunts were. Then there was a loud BANG and a night haunt screeched. Then more BANGS and the night haunts were put down by small arms fire.
Using his multi modal eyes, Atechok sighted some people on top of the wreck with rifles. So they had in fact more than just primitive weapons. The group of people then went to the carcasses and started to harvest them. A fire was later setup and they roasted the meat much to his disgust. The night haunts near Baltmare were toxic if eaten. Here though, on this continent, that appeared not the case.
The next day they positioned themselves next to the DropShip in order to blend in and take in any conversations that might be had. The doors opened exactly on time and the human teams made their way out examining the ground for anything out of the ordinary. Thankfully they didn't notice the six wraiths in memetic cloaks about hundred feet from them. Then they went about their business.
They spoke English was the first thing that was zeroed in on. That made over hearing all the easier. The blessed ear implants allowed the team to hear from an extreme distance and catch the varied conversation from the frails. They talking about rumors, news, the weather, relationships, etc. The one thing that stood out was a conversation that appeared to be between an elder and one of the warrior like people. They talked about night haunts that weren't afraid of the night and that they needed to stay extra vigilant. They called them day hunters and night hunters. So they had named the night haunts differently. That made Artechok take note. Come night fall they entered the wreck and the wraith team made back to their hidden camp.
"Atechok to Deback come in."
"Deback here, report."
"The people here talk about night haunts that come out during the day. The beasts that are on Baltmare's continent are here now. I suspect the land bridge allowed some of those to cross over and then some how make it to this continent. I have no way to verify how they did. Do any orbital scans showing land bridges or short passes of water?"
"I will put the guides and support staff on it. In the mean time observe and if you have to, interdict. Be their guardian angels at this point as you have identified a credible threat. It appears Corden unfortunately created this problem. We had no way of knowing. Blake bless us in this time and hour."
Danger lurking closer[]
There was no sign of how the night haunts had gotten to the continent. Theories were thrown around that maybe a cave system existed or had opened up. Possibly a land bridge via the polar cap. It was not the winter cycle so no observations could be made. It would have to be physically found at a later time.
Atechok's team remained in place alot longer than expected. Rations were getting low and they had to start conserving. There was talk of trying some of the crops, but they were of alien origin and may not agree to their stomachs despite being edible to these Turblines. It was the third week when things took a turn for the worse.
"Atechek. Look over on the crag at radian 323."
Atechek looked in the direction his team member had pointed. His multi modal eyes zoomed in on what was pointed out. That is not good went thru his mind.
"Deback, Atechok. First contact is going to be forced. I have spotted night haunts in broad daylight. Not a horde, but enough that we can't hold them off. The people here do not know what they are in for. So far from our observations, the night haunts on this continent are not as vicious as the ones near Baltmare. Remember they were weaponized and they will be aggressive enough I believe to breech the wreck. I don't know if there are other packs on the other side of the plateau or surrounding areas. I advise full insertion. We could also orbital bombard the group we see, but it would be a drop in the bucket. Advise."
Minutes past as Deback contemplated the response.
"Blake's light will be illuminated for all here on Turbline. We owe them this much considering the circumstances. A choir will descend to your position as soon as I can get aboard a DropShip. I will be there when I can. Stick to the plan, but you might want to move in closer to reinforce their forces if something happens. Deback out."