Mech RP [Ch. 1] The Hand of the Empire

"Yes." She admitted, chuckling quietly to herself. She looked at the truck wondering how comfortable it might be on the journey back to the terrible battlefield and what horrors they might find.

Following her gaze, Tasha looked from the truck to Sigrid's face. "Worried?" she asked her.

"With this war?" Sigrid nodded the once. "Yeah I am... It is going to be difficult to come back to the battlefield so soon."

"I hear ya," Tasha said. "And I've never been in a battle yet." Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair, pushing it out of her eyes while unintentionally getting some grease in it. "Come on, you can sit next to me on the ride. If nothing else we can talk for a bit--beats sitting in silence." As she spoke, she watched Nathan climb into the Frame, closing the hatch behind him. A few seconds later the big machine came online, standing up and shifting in place before it began to thunder over to the rig. "Question is....sit in the cramped cabin of the rig, or sit out on the bed on back?" she asked.

"You're lucky." Sigrid responded, the 212th Militia had been virtually wiped out in the last engagement. Most of them Sigrid included weren't soldiers just people who took up arms to aid the rebel cause. They wanted to defend their homes or avenge the crimes committed by the Imperials against their friends, loved ones, families or homes.
"Probably the bed on the back would be the best choice." It meant they weren't safe from the Martian dust but at least they would not be like sardines in a tin.

"Alright," Tasha said, grabbing a bandanna that poked out of her pocket. Tossing it to Sigrid she said then "Wrap it around your face, helps with the dust and the exhaust. I've got a spare but that one doesn't have any holes." As she tied her spare around her face, she gestured for Sigrid to follow her while climbing to the rear of the rig. The bed of the rig wasn't like a construction dump truck, able to lift and let its load fall off. No, this was a fixed platform that had three and a half foot high walls bordering everything but the rear, a sturdy cargo net serving as a way to keep things from sliding out.

There was a ladder on the side they could climb to get to the platform, next to the short crane used for loading. Briefly, Tasha entertained the idea of rigging an elevator out of it....but decided she had legs and should use them. On the actual bed itself, there were several large crates wrapped in cargo netting that housed their large equipment, along with empty containers that'd be used to store scrap and useful parts. There wouldn't be much to do, but at least her ass wouldn't go numb from sitting down for too long. She spotted Nathan and his frame, reaching for her communicator as she did so.

"Doing okay Nate?" she asked over the comm, the device attached to her shoulder. "Yeah, doing fine. Walking the damned thing isn't the hard part," he replied. Finding a decent spot to stop, Nathan began running brief diagnostics on the Frame, mostly for weapons and power. "Fuel cells are charged, targeting systems are running smoothly, and you're really gonna call me Nate?" he said, adding the question in towards the end. She smirked from where she stood and said "What? Tasha's my nickname for Natasha, why can't you have a nickname?"

"Because I like Nathan already?" Nathan suggested brightly. Chortling, Tasha said "No, no I will not accept that, you are getting a nickname."

A little while later, the necessary officers arrived in a slow trickle at the meetup, with Irving and Juno somewhere in the middle of that group. Juno was escorted by a few guards, naturally, and Irving sat himself down somewhere along the edge of the group, to keep an eye on Juno as well as participate. "Are we all here?" One of the younger officers piped up.

"My helmet keeps the dust out of my eyes and lungs, but thanks." The medic replied to Tasha, pocketing it anyway. "Thanks though." She never knew when or if she might need it. Sigrid clambered up into the back of the truck, double checking her assault rifle once she had sat herself down. It would not be much use against a frame however it might deal down the enemy infantry. Though if they ran into trouble, she did not see much hope for any of them.
Especially considering how Imperials routed the Rebel forces so successfully.

Breaking off from the conversation with Nathan, Tasha looked at Sigrid and said "Suit yourself. Just don't lose it please." Returning to Nathan, she said "Come on, if you want it can just be between us." Nathans reply was quick as he said "Does this really have to happen?" Leaning against the railing, Tasha said "Look....if you really don't want the name, then I won't call you Nate. Just having some fun is all." He felt guilty then, and calmly said "Alright......you can call me Nate." She didn't exactly let out a shout of triumph, but Tasha did pump her fist and say "Alright, from now on I'm calling you Nate."

"Yeah yeah," he said in a tired tone. "So, what's the word? We leaving or no?" Tasha, despite it being a pointless gesture, shook her head. "Not yet, we're waiting for word to come in from command that we actually can go. Right now all we can do is just be ready."

[Sojourner]

King is sat near the center edge of the group. He nods and replies, "It appears so." He clears his throat before continuing, "Ladies and Gentlemen we are placed in a very awkward position. We have lost the only other city we had control over. In that same battle, we had members of the Empire defect to aid us in our escape when it appeared we would all be slaughtered." He points to Juno. "One of them even being an Elite member of the Empire." He lowers his hand and assumes a standing position, his arms at his back. "Naturally, we have not heard the end of this from our subordinates, and of course, with good reason. I know it will be difficult to put aside your anger, and I do not blame you, but we are professionals. Not savages. I want everyone here to individually tell us all their thoughts without causing a huge uproar." He nods to Juno, "Let us start with the... Let us start with Juno. Tell us why we should not drag your bodies through the sand and hang you high by your Frames."

[Olympus]

Meanwhile, the Emperor sits in session with his advisers. Much like the current situation happening in Sojourner, albeit with less relationship building. They are going over the steps to keep certain cities in their grasp, as well as dealing with the defector's on their own terms. Augustus' voice rings out over the large table. "Viking. What of them?" "There has not been a word from Viking in many days, my lord. Then again, we do not have as many of our men stationed there as, say, Spirit. I advise we send a fraction of them to Viking to see what may be going on." His war adviser speaks up. "Spirit is too valuable for me to allow such a thing to happen." He pauses for a moment. "Send a squad from Curiosity there." "My lord, as per your orders, we do not have many of our men stationed there, either. Leaving Curiosity without proper defense will leave it vulnerable for the Rebels" His war adviser continues. Augustus waves his hand at the notion that the Rebels would have the gall to take a city after losing one so early. "I placed many units on the edge of Spirit for a reason, however, I... will go ahead with your idea. Send a unit or two to Viking, immediately. He sighs deeply. "And now on to those who have betrayed my trust. Those who sought new refuge under the failings of the Rebels. I want a few of the soldiers in the 531st to scout ahead of Opportunity. To head to Quatra Sienna. If there are any of our most recently lost Frames by the hands of the defectors, I want them destroyed. Killing the actual Rebels will be a secondary goal, send it immediately.

"Because you need as many soldiers to join you as you can." Juno replied, "And the only soldiers on Mars are part of the Imperial Military, if you kill us, no Imperial soldier is going to defect again."

King nods once more, "I have already heard the variations of your excuses, but many of the people here have not." He reaches onto the table and picks up the same datapad that Juno had produced and given to Irving. "This datapad was also a sign of goodwill." He waves it around slightly for all in the room to see. He proceeds to turn it on and reads off the list of directories. Putting emphasis on "Operational tactics of SPECWAR groups" and "Frame OS V8". He looks around. "Very valuable information. Information we can use to perhaps turn the tide in this war." He pauses to allow the next person to speak.

"Great." Sigrid muttered the agonising wait would now be lengthened till they got the order to roll out. Then there was just the small matter of the gut wrenching wait to the remains of the battlefield to pick through the dead like scavenging animals. She decided to spend the time by double checking her equipment. It would keep her mind busy at least.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Nathan muttered, not relishing the idea of simply sitting in the Frame who god knows how long. Tasha didn't have much to add to that, walking over to Sigrid. "So, need any help or should I step away?" she asked. "Unless you'd rather talk?"

"Nah its cool just checking what I've got in case of..." She trailed off, the last thing Sigrid wanted to do was jinx the mission. Maybe they might get lucky and find some rebel survivors, but she had her doubts on that front.
Regardless she needed to be prepared for any injured especially if they made contact with Imperial forces.

"In case of what?" Tasha asked, leaning against one of the tied down crates. "Trouble?"

Sigrid nodded unwilling to say it out loud.

Touching her shoulder, Tasha said "We'll be okay, Sigrid. You've lived through one fight, so that means you'll know what to do if anything happens." Grinning a little, she then balled her hand into a fist and playfully thumped Sigrid's shoulder. "So cheer up."

Sigrid could not join in Tasha's optimism. She shrugged her shoulders. "I hope you are right." She highly doubted that the rebels would win this war, yet if she deserted the rebels the Empire would still find her after their inevitable victory.

The pessimistic mood from Sigrid was starting to put a downer on Tasha's spirits. She sat down next to her and said "It must have been bad, what happened at that battle." Giving Sigrid a glance, she asked "Mind if I ask what happened?"

She shook her head. "I would prefer to not discuss it." Sigrid replied making herself more comfortable on the back of the truck. "I wish this war was over." Sigrid muttered quietly to herself.

"Yeah, I hear ya there," Tasha said. "Just hope that, when the fighting's done, the Empire has fallen." Casting a glance to the red sky above, she thought on stories of Earth. Skies of blue, and big clouds of white.....what must that have looked like? "What would you like to talk about?" she asked. "Silence is gonna get boring fast."

"You've been spouting that nonsense for years, King! The tides might have turned for a brief moment when we took Opportunity, but those tides returned to their natural flow! Why would you even trust something given to you by a traitor to her own Empire? Have you even looked the thing over?" An officer pipes up and King meets him with a glare.

"We are all traitors to the Empire and they are no different. They wish to join our ranks and they have given us valuable information. I have gone through this datapad very briefly and comparing my knowledge with what is on this pad, I have come to the conclusion that this is not fabricated. We have strategies the Empire uses, we have the information on their latest Frame OS. We can use this information to render their Frames useless without putting our own at complete risk." King responds and the officer quiets down some. "Is there anything else?" He asks openly to all.

"The awful food?" Sigrid suggested her stomach wincing at the thought of the horrors it endured daily.

Chuckling, Tasha said "The mystery meat? Yeah I'm not even sure it counts as food. Chemical warfare maybe but food?" Casting a wistful glance back at the city, she said "What I would give for some actual solid food. Anything would be better than that glop they serve."

Someone else chimed in. "What about the incident yesterday night? They cannot be trusted with firearms if they end up just killing each other. We'll have to keep them guarded at all times!" Irving took this moment to speak. "I personally talked with Juno about that and we came to an understanding. If there's ever a dispute in who's in command of her new arrivals, she'll bring it to me or another one of us and we'll handle it. Right?" He gave her a steady stare, a dare to say no to his proposal. "After all, we agreed that would be the best way to show how they want to support us."

"Yes that." She smiled slightly. "I swear we should be given a medal and get discharged due to mental health concerns for eating that stuff."

"I hear that," Tasha grinned. "Maybe when we get back, we'll actually go looking for some real meat......or, syn-meat," she said, referring to the cloned/synthetic meat products*. "Maybe we should use the mystery meat as weapons against the Empire?"




*Again, imagining that in interplanetary colonizing bringing things like cattle, pigs, etc would be expensive and such foods would be for the super elite. Cloned and synthetic versions would be commonplace for civilians? You guys can stop me anytime....

Sigrid shrugged. "Might be better off going veggie at least then you know what it was meant to be before the cooks got to it." She joked her stomach could and probably would kill for a decent meal, not the slop that they got served.

"Yeah but.....I've never been much of a full vegetarian," Tasha said. She gave a look at her watch and said "Christ, if this takes any longer I may just start working on my tan. Already got the open space and sun for it." She was joking of course.

"If there's time for that, of course," Juno said, "Though I cannot guarantee that I'd be able to detain any dissidents, or worse, Imperial Agents without having to resort to violence. Speaking of which," She continued, reaching for her datapad, "I have devised a plan to discover any Agents that might be hiding among the defectors."

King's eyebrow raises at the last sentence and he replies quickly, "Please, go on Juno. The faster we take care of them, the easier it will be to integrate the rest of you."

"I've got a betta plan, mon." Atu interjected before Juno could reply.
"'Ows about, all new arrivals stay wit me for a two week peer-iod? I and I can pull teir records up from te Empire, mon, and be making sure tat tere ain't no funny bisness goin' on"

IRving glanced over at Atu. While he didn't like the idea, he couldn't directly oppose it. "I'm in favor of that plan, so long as anything fishy is reported. I'm not letting any more spies in if I can help it, dammit."

King's eyes quickly shift to Atu at the sound of his voice and goes over what he said in his head. "We can spend their down time having the engineers go over their Frame's Framework and take anything of value as research." He places the datapad down. "And use that to help us better understand what we can do to attain their level of technology outside of forcefully taking the Empire's Frames and all the while keeping a closer eye on the defectors." He nods once. "Very good plan, Atu. I support this CoA"

Atu relaxes back in his seat, reaches into his pocket and takes a long intake on the substance he finds there.

"See, mon. I and I knows best." Floats his voice from the haze of smoke now surrounding him. "If only Mama was 'ere ta see Atu now. 'Elpin' you bumbaclots run ya rebellion."

Juno looked at Atu, Irving and King, a disappointed look in her eyes.
"You realise that only Imperial Inteligence have records of their agents? You can't be the secret police if there are records of who works for you."

"Ah, dis girl be not knowing who I and I be." Atu laughed through his smoke, leaning forward to size Juno up better.
"Ya jus' need ta chill, girlie. Atu knows best"

"Atu, " Juno said, "Apparently, isn't familiar with the strength of Imperial Intelligence. I wouldn't be surprised if there was an agent in this room with us."

"Ya be too paranoid, Ju-no. If dere is an agent 'ere, a stay wit me will sort dat mess out. Which is what we agreed on, no?"

"If you think I'm paranoid then you don't know what Imperial Inteligence is capable of," Juno replied, flicking open a file on her datapad. "July 23rd, 2429, my unit conducted an operation against a resistance cell near Curiousity," She paused, scrolling down on the file, "We infiltrated with the intent to assassinate the leader. When we arrived, he produced an Imperial Intelligence code that overwrote all of our previous orders, and we were made to extract our target."

"Curiosity was a hotspot for some time with the Emperor being very paranoid himself with losing that city. Tensions had been bubbling for some time because of lack of interaction. They feared they were being abandoned as trade slowed." King interjects quickly.

"The point is that nobody except Imperial Inteligence knew about the agent." Juno said, "But I am aware of one occaision where an Agent had a microphone impanted in one of his molars, so that Intelligence could hear any conversation he had."

"If I am understanding you correctly, you know who may have this device implanted in their teeth? If I am wrong, then we go through the process of individually searching the teeth of all of your men who are currently with us. Of course, you would be checked as well just to air on the side of caution." He pauses and thinks about the recent incident. "We will also check the recently deceased soldier who you dealt with earlier if no one comes up."

"That is exactly what I am proposing," Juno replied, "I'd also recommend checking your own people," She added, "It won't reveal all of them, but discovering even one is a victory."

King looks around after the proposition's confirmation. Many of the officer's present reel back at the thought of possible spies among them before falling back on his desk. This developing story also helps in reinforcing his previous thoughts during the fall of Opportunity. An entire section had gone down without the rest of the Rebel forces even knowing and before they knew what hit them, they were on the run. His fists clench and a vein pops out of his forehead. "I wish to hear more thoughts on this proposition before continuing." He says through near clenched teeth. "Just know the salvage run may be postponed if this plan is executed."

"Hey if that is what you want to do." Sigrid shrugged her shoulders with a smile. "I do not see why you can't." She rolled her shoulders. "You might want to double check your equipment whilst we have the time." Sigrid checked over her rifle, making sure that it was clean, not dust, grime or sand in the weapon. The last thing she needed was it to jam in battle.

"I would," Tasha said, "if I had a bikini.....and a beach. But that's all up north for the rich people." Terraforming had melted much of the Martian ice at the poles, turning them into seas and oceans at the top and bottom. "Anyway.......yeah, I could check my equipment, make sure it's all in order."

King looks around one last time, it didn't appear as though any of the other officers had any objections or thoughts on the matter. Any they didn't want to share, at any rate. He heaves an annoyed sigh. "We keep the defectors here, they will fight with us after going through the two week period with Atu for further safety precautions and to do as I added prior. If any of the defectors are found to be bugged, they will be executed..." He pauses for a second as he thinks. "You will also execute any of those of ours who are bugged with Imperial devices. Any who refuse the dental check, will be executed. Officers will be stationed in the medical bays and will act accordingly once their checks have passed. Those orders are final. This is for the good of the family." One final look around as many of the officers reel back at those orders. Scowls form on many of their faces, obvious looks of disapproval. He minds them not and accesses the Shatterdome's intercom. His voice blares for all inside to hear.

"This is Colonel King, the salvage run will be postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. All men and women, including the defectors, will report to medical bays stationed through this base. Medics will apply a dental check. This may seem extremely random, but this is for the good of us all. The salvage run will continue as scheduled after this quick intermission. I thank you for your cooperation."

"Ah, dis be redikkulus." Atu told them all. He meant forward, leaning his elbows onto his knees and pointed towards Juno.
"An' say dey ain't got no microphone? Dey be instantly cleared o'suspicion? Cause o' dis one time you 'eard a story?"