Chapter One Hundred and Fifty-Five: "You see, what had happened…"
March 25th, 3035
"You said this would be fun!" I yelled at Natasha as we ducked down underneath a hail of gunfire.
"It was supposed to be a relaxing diversion!" She yelled back as she aimed with her rifle and squeezed off some rounds. "How was I supposed to know that the treasure map had real treasure at the end of it?"
"I don't know. Maybe the fact that pirates were trying to steal the map from you might have been a clue!" I yelled back as I reloaded my DMR before taking aim through the optic and eliminating one of the enemy infantrymen.
"I did not know that they were pirates!" Natasha yelled back as she stepped slightly out of cover and ripped three pirates to shreds with a burst of automatic fire. "It is not like it was obvious."
"Natasha, they had someone with a peg leg and an eyepatch!" I took out two more pirates. "It was pretty fucking obvious!"
"Fine, I will make it up to you later then," Natasha called back before signaling me to move forward to the next piece of cover.
I moved forward, taking out another couple of pirates before the rest of them broke and scattered away from us.
"Run you sons of motherless goats!" Natasha yelled as the pirates began running away from us.
"Natasha, that's not why they're running," I said as I turned and threw her behind a broken shell of a combat vehicle and jumped on top of her. "I'm pretty sure that that was an SDS drone that just took out their aerospace cover."
"You have got your SLIC ID on you right?" Natasha asked me as we got up from behind the shell of a broken vehicle.
"Never leave home without it," I replied.
"Good, because that might be what allows us to survive this," Natasha said as she dusted herself off.
Then, an Atlas II broke through the debris that surrounded us. "I heard that you required assistance." Yvonne Hazen said as she stomped closer. "Mathis has been trying to track you down since your small craft was shot down."
March 30th, 3035
"I thought dead worlds were supposed to be dead, not teeming with AI that's trying to kill everyone!" Mathis yelled as we looked at the map of the solar system. "The only reason that we're not dead is that the Manassas had the proper IFF for them to not target us."
"I get that," I replied with a small smile. "But it's a miracle that there's still a world protected by this many SDS systems that weren't taken over by Amaris during the coup." I pointed at the world that we were still mapping. "I'm not quite sure whathappened here, but it looks like this was an off-the-books R&D facility for the Terran Hegemony."
"And that helps us how?" Mathis asked with Yvonne nodding along. "The Pirates are already on the surface of the planet."
"Yes, but unless they brought a lot of high explosives and shaped charges then they won't be breaking into any hardened facilities," I responded. "We don't know what happened to the population down there, but it looks like it will just be us vs the pirates."
"And the SDS systems will not target us because we are broadcasting the right IFF and shutdown codes." Natasha chimed in, picking up how I wanted to do things. "So we are going to go down and take out the rest of the pirates, and see what kind of loot there is to be found down below."
"Pretty much what she said." I shrugged. "I know that we've only got a battalion here, but it's only three pirate dropships, and they're limited in taking off because the moment that they do the drones will take them out."
"Well, it has been a long time since we took out some pirates," Mathis said with a smirk. "Let's go make the galaxy a safer place."
April 1st, 3035
"How the hell did pirates get their hands on those?!" Mathis asked as he used the zoom function built into the helmet of his Mithril. "Hey Boss, they've got two lances of assault 'mechs, and they're in great condition too."
"We only have a couple of artillery pieces with us," I responded as I moved my Warhammer IIC through the overgrown bush and trees. "What are we up against?"
"They must have a former Wolf's Dragoon's member, because they've got an Imp in there along with a Pillager, Emperor, and a King Crab," Mathis reported. "The other assault lance is a mix of Chargers and a Victor paired with a Zeus."
"That is a lot of autocannons," Natasha said plainly. "And the Pillager will have nearly the same range as our long-range weapons."
"We still out mass them at the end of the day, and if we need to we can always call in an orbital strike directly on whatever their position is," I said as I continued moving. "We're here to clear out the pirates, get into some of the Star League Bunkers down there, and mark down the system for further investigations."
"Whoever is piloting that Pillager is an incredible shot," I said as I narrowly avoided a gauss rifle round.
"I am well aware," Natasha quipped as she limped her Nightstar behind a copse of trees. "The Pillager and Imp pilots are the superior two pilots among the pirates."
"You think they're ex Dragoons?" I asked as I killed a Locust before triggering my jump jets to avoid yet another gauss rifle round.
"It is a possibility," Natasha replied as she finally hit the Pillager square on and made it back off. "When the Dragoons split there were many that went their own way."
"It would certainly explain the skill level," Mathis replied as he finally got his infantry into position. "We're ready to execute on your signal."
"Coordinate with Colonel Hazen," I replied. "I'm a bit busy at the moment."
"Take them down," Yvonne ordered as she finally moved her Atlas II out of the river behind the enemy pirates. She fired her Gauss Rifle into the back of the Pillager as the Ducal Guard infantry began to move in to seize the pirate dropships.
Seeing that the ambush was working, I began to move forward at a moderate pace, not wanting to leave Natasha's Nightstar too far behind.
"Careful of that King Crab," I warned. "It's got two AC/20s that'll shred you no matter how much armor you have."
"Colonel Hazen, the Dropships are ours, we can broadcast a surrender at any time you command," Mathis reported from the pirate dropships.
"Pirate scum, we have seized your dropships and are prepared to order an orbital strike should you continue to resist." Yvonne broadcast on the open channels. "Surrender. Or don't, that would be more fun."
"This is Captain Revel, I surrender on the condition that I am tried according to the AFFS military code, I run a Mercenary Assault Lance, we didn't know that we were working for pirates."
"An investigation will clear that up later," I chimed in. "For now though, power down and prepared to be thrown into the brig."
April 3rd, 3035
"Well, this looks promising," I said as I went to a door that had the Terran Hegemony seal on it. Time may have eroded the rest of the seal, but the nine-pointed star still shone with astonishing brilliance.
"Let us hope that your credentials give you access," Natasha said as I plugged in the SLIC ID chit and typed in the passcode that I had been using for years.
The ground rumbled, for a brief moment, and then the doors began to part. It was time to see what secrets lay inside.