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Chapter 6 - This is the Way the World Ends - Wolf Skinners (3024)[]
~200 km radius of WSDS Mondez's intended landing point
Astrokaszy
1211-1259 Local Time (the "golden hour")
21st July, 3024
The hour or so after the disaster was mercifully free from outside interference. After the initial burst of radio chatter, units set about gathering up their chutes, or moving to rendezvous with others. The first contact on the ground was when the unit's S-3, Lieutenant Harris, successfully zeroed in on Sergeant Ludak and his exoskeleton. What he didn't expect was the Sergeant's excited wave off as he approached. Ludak had departed the Mondez with a one-ton pallet of ration packs, but had to jettison it just before landing. While it appeared the packs themselves survived impact relatively unscathed, the cardboard boxes, packing straps and pallet holding them weren't so lucky. As a result, a literal ton of food was scattered over several hundred square meters around Ludak's landing point. Harris quickly ordered his tech to dismount the Hunchback and help Ludak gather as many of the ration packs as possible.
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Stinger light 'mech
A few minutes later, the unit's Stinger joined the first two, and Harris ordered that tech to dismount and help as well. After a few minutes, Lieutenant Harris noted that while a beacon was still emanating from the southeast, there had been no other radio contact, and ordered the Stinger to proceed toward it. Hopefully whoever was aboard that escape pod was alive, and simply had a broken radio.
While Lieutenant Harris was trying to create some order out of chaos, the leader of the Recon Lance (WHISKEY ROMEO) was confirming there were no survivors where Major Skinner and the unfortunate escape pod had come down. It took a few minutes to process the resultant emotions and mark the site for return. The Vulcan then proceeded on its way to the nearest beacon.
At 1230, ROMEO THREE located Escape Pod #2, with the Mondez's engineering crew, led by the Chief Engineer. The organized crew members had already packed up their chute, and were wisely huddling in what air conditioning the pod could provide as Astrokaszy's temperature continued to climb well past 40 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, the 'mech wasn't strong enough to lift the pod, so the CHENG and the MechWarrior agreed to wait for recovery.
Pod 6 was the next to be found, the Whitworth from the Fire Lance having called the other two nearby 'mechs to it. It would be almost 20 minutes before the second 'mech, the Command Lance's Centurion, would arrive, it's chute clumsily balled in its one hand, and another 20 before the Recon Lance's Mirage arrived.
Around the same time, Pod 5 was found by the Command Lance's JaegerMech (WHISKEY CHARLIE TWO), who disembarked his tech to help the infantry squad shut down their emergency beacon. And Lieutenant Harris welcomed his Panther (WHISKEY FOXTROT FOUR) to the working party picking up scattered rations.
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JaegerMech Heavy 'Mech
Five minutes later, to everyone's relief, WHISKEY BRAVO arrived, and added four more bodies to the ration collection effort, plus the truck to load them aboard. The two MechWarriors and WHISKEY BRAVO's gunner remained aboard their machines, just in case. Of course, the first two enjoying full air conditioning and the latter one at least having cool air blown around them in the turret ring had absolutely nothing to do with that risk decision.
At the same time, Doc Ozora's MASH found BM2 Venters reclining in the shade of their chute, which was strung between two boulders. The spacer was still sealed in their vac suit, apparently enjoying what little cooling it could provide in the heat of the brutal Astrokaszy afternoon. They didn't crack the helmet open until they were aboard the converted Drillson, and the hatch had been sealed.
The next few minutes saw the Command Lance's Rifleman join the JaegerMech at Pod 5, the Blackjack contribute another tech to collecting rations, and WHISKEY ROMEO ONE finding Pod 4 and disembarking their tech to help the infantry troops shut down their beacon. While the tech was helping with that, the Vulcan proceeded on the north, to rendezvous with Pod 1, to deliver the news that Captain Skinner was now in command with the confirmed death of Major Skinner.
The golden hour concluded with the unit's APC finally making its rendezvous with the MASH, and both proceeding to pick up the second flight deck crewman, and the Vulcan's somber arrival at Pod 1. The MechWarrior dismounted to deliver the news, and it was during that discussion that all hell broke loose on the radio.