RP (SP) [Chapter 1] A new objective

[Yoerik]

ITC Headquarters, Ushobrakflug, 9/6/YE 36

" Beginning initializing of the interface. All is looking good." Said Odaka.

The ITC was in big movement. They were beginning their first big objective: rebuilding their surroundings on Ushobrakflug. The area around the HQ was a wasteland. The mud-lands close to the HQ were contemptuously called the "Battle-torn Fields". It was a graveyard of scrap metal, dug into the boggy ground. There was nothing of worth there anymore. But the metal would serve the company very well. So they began scavenging what remained, but all they had found so far was nothing but rusted iron and fragile steel. They would have to melt them to get anything out of it. And all the time, it had been raining.

So they decided to look beneath the mud. Just a few days before, Skeggason had done some sample working, and now he was identifying it.

" Copy that Odaka. Call me if you find anything interesting." Answered Bjarkmar. He was watching trough the microscope. But he did not know what he was seeing. " I've got some sort of unicellular organism. I sending you the schematics. Got them?"

Odaka: " Roger that. But what does it say? I'm not a biologist, Bjarkmar."
Bjarkmar: " Let's just say, it's a bacteria."
Odaka: " All right, anything else to report?"
Bjarkmar: " Nothing yet. How's the drilling going."
Odaka: " Initializing is complete. Well start digging in 20 seconds. Have you contacted Kenichi yet."
Bjarkmar: " I'm hailing him right now. Should I put him trough?"
Odaka: " Yes, but keep him contacted. I think he wants to speak to both of us."
Bjarkmar: " Got it. He's coming trough."
Kenichi: " This is Takahashi Kenichi. What do you have for me, Odaka and Bjarkmar?"
Odaka: " Sir, we've started drilling. But Bjarkmar has something interesting."
Bjarkmar: " Yes sir. I've fund some sort of bacteria beneath the surface. Nothing special, but it seems to be feeding on metal."
Kenichi: " What do you mean. Is it eating our foundations?"
Bjarkmar: " Affirmative sir. But it's not harmful. It only eating the rusted parts."
Odaka: " Is it dangerous?"
Bjarkmar: " In current form, no. But it seems to be evolving."
Kenichi: " Keep track on it, Skeggason. Odaka, how the drilling."
Odaka: " We've started. We're aiming for 30 meters."
Kenichi: " Copy that. Call me if you find something."

And so Odaka started drilling. The area would become an observation point and research camps would be set up. Also a marketplace would be constructed. But there was more to be done than that. All of the scrap metal would have to be removed, and refined into usable materials. It would take weeks to complete everything. The "battle-torn fields" were about 6 km. But the project was just starting. This was their new objective.

 

[Yoerik]

Takahashi Tower, ITC Headquarters, Ushobrakflug, 9/6/YE 36

Kenichi stood up from his chair, and walked to the window. Outside, the work was seen. It was raining tremendously. The machines were removing al the scraps, and trucks moved them into the base.
" This is gonna take loads of time, even without the rain." Mumbled Kenichi. He had only given the order to remove all the junk around the HQ three days ago. All that time, it had been raining. He looked across and saw Odaka's drill machine. " Still, it will be worth it I hope." Suddenly, a hard bang! was heard. " Damn it. What is it this time?!"

Battle-torn fields
" Were you asleep Donald?! Get it back right now." Shouted Foreman Edgar. " I'm sorry sir, I'll get it away sir." Stumbled Donald. " You better! Boss ain't gonna be happy about this!" answered Edgar.
" You wanna work here?! You do better now!" " Yes sir, it will not happen again sir." Answered Donald. Edgar shook his head. " Jeez." He mumbled.

A huge metal plate had fallen out of Donald's hands. He had nearly hit one truck's tires. But more accidents happened. The scrap metal was just to much. And then, one truck got stuck in the mud.
" Oh great, just ruin my day some huh!" Edgar shouted. People tried to get the tire out of the mud. The even pushed the truck, but it didn't work. They all fell into the mud. " Cut it! Stop it already. There's no way this bloody truck is going anywhere. Get a car to push. Damn it, it's dug deep." Another car came by. A hook was attached. The car started pulling out the truck. " Quickly, push it out." Edgar said. But then suddenly, a thunder was heard. " Damn it! Get it out right now!" The lighting was getting closer. It was now close to the plains.

Not far from there, Odaka was still digging. " Milady, we have to get out of here. The lighting will be here in no time!" Bjarkmar shouted. He had come running from his field tent. He was the first to see the lighting bolt just 2 km from there. " No, we can't! I haven't stopped drilling yet! We've still 20 meters to go!" Answered Odaka. " There's no time for that! We have to get inside ASAP!" Shouted Bjarkmar. " Come on, ma'am. Cut the drilling already. The place is gonna change into a swamp!" And indeed, as Bjarkmar said it, a truck sank into the mud. " Shit! Odaka, we have to get out of here!" A lighting bolt struck a nearby tree, and it fell on another car. " Odaka! Damn it! Come on!" Fire began to spread from the forest, right where it was hit. The fire came towards the plains. Suddenly a lightning bolt hit Takahashi Tower. With it, all lights went out.

Takahashi Tower
" What the hell?! Get power back on, right now!" Kenichi shouted. He saw the bolt hit the tower, but it was supposed to hit the lighting conductor. Instead, it had hit the power systems. No it was unknown when the power would come back on. " We're working on it sir." A mechanic answered. " I know! Call back all personnel now! And contact Odaka and Bjarkmar." Kenichi commanded, pointing at the monitors. " We're on it, sir." " Can you say anything else than that?" Kenichi mumbled.

Battle-torn fields
" Holy crap!" Odaka shouted. " Odaka, get the hell out of there, damn it!" Bjarkmar said from outside. The personnel was getting back inside, but several of them were stuck in the mud. " Sir, we need you to get of here. You too, ma'am." Said Foreman Edgar trough the radio. " Copy that, Edgar. We're coming." Said Bjarkmar, and then to Odaka: " Milady, you've got to stop. The rain will change the plains into mud-lands. Come on already." But just as he said it, a tree came from above towards the drilling machine. " Holy shit! Get out now!" Bjarkmar shouted, and then he ducked. The tree hit the machine right on top, and punched trough the weak roof. It split the vehicle in two. The tree came down with terrible sound. Bjarkmar didn't look up for nearly 2 minutes. He lay down on the ground, his hands on his head.

He realised that the tree cut trough the drill machine like a knife trough butter. He looked up, but he didn't see or hear Odaka. " Shit! Odaka, are you there? Can you hear me?" He got no response. He shouted "Odaka" for nearly 10 minutes. But he heard nor saw nothing. Then in the distance, a soft groaning. It came from the drilling machine. Bjarkmar rushed towards it. "Odaka, are you all right?" He said once he got into the vehicle. Odaka was leaning over the dashboard. She had scars over her face, and blood was coming trough her shirt. " Jesus. What happened here?" Odaka mumbled. She tried to lift up, but it was to painful for her. Bjarkmar couldn't resist to let out a loud sigh of relief. " You were hit by a tree. Damn, Odaka, you're tough." He said. They suddenly heard running steps. Foreman Edgar came to the vehicle. " Are you all right. Jeez, you've got to be lucky. Are you hurt?" He said. Bjarkmar nodded. " Odaka is hit by glass and metal. We've got to get her to medbay quickly. Can you do that?" He said. " Yes sir. I'll tell them to get ready right away." Said Edgar. And then on the radio: " Medbay A-13, we've got a injured person. Prepare surgery, we're coming in hot. It's Odaka." Bjarkmar lifted up Odaka, but she seemed to have a piece of metal that pierced trough her leg. She screamed, but she carried on. " We're gonna get you to a medbay, okay." Bjarkmar said. And then to Edgar: " How long does it take from here? She's bleeding heavily." He took Odaka up his shoulder. He waved Edgar, and he took the other arm up his shoulder to. And so they got out of the vehicle. " It won't take much longer, milady." Edgar said. Odaka screamed out again when she put her foot on the ground. " Lean on us, Kinzo. It's gonna be all right." They carried on towards the HQ, tottering with Odaka in the middle, Skeggason on the left and Edgar on the right. Strangely enough, the raining had stopped.

Takahashi Tower
" We've lost contact with Odaka, sir." Said the communications officer. Kenichi smashed his desk. " Damn! What about Bjarkmar?" He said. " He isn't responding to our hails. They seem to both have lost their radio." Kenichi walked back towards the window. But he saw nothing. Until he said: " Why has the rain suddenly stopped?"

To be continued...

 

[Yoerik]

Takahashi Tower, 10/6/YE 36

" Well shit. What a mess." Said Kenichi. He was sentry-going around the window. " Do you have any idea what this is gonna cost me." " Can we please not talk about money. Odaka is hurt, not to mention all the others out there," Bjarkmar pointed out the window, " and half of the personnel is nearly drowned last night. So if you've got some bloody sense left, you think about our crew first!" Kenichi stepped backwards when Bjarkmar shouted at him. " Jeez. But I guess you're right. It already terrible as it is. I don't need your anger too." He said with his hands forward in regret. Then he looked outside again. " But you know what, Skegg. This ain't natural. It began to rain right after we set foot outside. Someone is playin' games with us." Bjarkmar looked intrigued. " Who? Black Hand?" He said. " No. Even they don't have power to control the weather. It must be someone bigger, more powerful. We must contact the Legion. See if they have similar problems. We can't fight this on our own." Answered Kenichi. Suddenly, a nurse walked in. " Sir, she is getting awake." She said. Kenichi and Bjarkmar didn't need to be told twice. They walked out, straight to the medbay.

Medbay A-13
Odaka laid down on the nursery bed. She had fall asleep after the surgery. Only a few minutes ago she woke up. She saw Kenichi and Bjarkmar standing by her bed. She groaned. " Where am I?" She asked. Kenichi looked to Bjarkmar and then he said: " You had an accident. You're in the medbay now." Bjarkmar walked to the front of the bed. " How do you feel?" He said. " *giggle*. Like shit." Odaka answered. They all laughed. Then Kenichi and Bjarkmar walked outside again.

" She is bad, but she will get over it. She is tough." Said Bjarkmar. " I know, she will. Right now, we need to know who did this to her." Answered Kenichi. " Who did this to her? It was an accident, a bloody mishap. You don't really think someone tried to kill her, do you?" Bjarkmar said. " It's a possibility. Someone started that rain. Someone hit our power grid. 'Cause you know, if it was natural, it would have hit the conductor. Not the power grid. No, someone pointed that bolt. And planted that tree right above Odaka's head. Like I said, someone is playing games with us. Not to mention the station accident. Someone threw that rock to you, I now it. Six of your guards were reported missing, remember. We are being harassed." Answered Kenichi. " But it can't be Black Hand. They're not so powerful. It's someone else." Bjarkmar said. " Yes, I think that to. And we need you to figure out who it is. I will fix things here, and you make sure nothing happens again, okay. Report back to Danketsu Station, there's surely a lot to do." Commanded Kenichi. Bjarkmar saluted, and then left for his shuttle.

to be continued...

 

[Yoerik]

Danketsu Station, 11/6/YE 36
" This is shuttle 'Bravo Eye'. Asking permission to dock." Said Bjarkmar. The station looked harmed, even from afar the damage could be seen. But it looked worse still." Permission granted." The shipyard master said trough the intercom. " Something else happened out here?" Bjarkmar asked. He saw that even more parts were loose. More than before. " Aye sir. It seemed like some sort of meteorite storm hit our perimeter. No personnel was harmed luckily. It hit parts still under construction." Remarked the shipyard master. " And no one seemed bothered to call me? Jeez!" Bjarkmar shouted.

He flew into the space-port, and saw that maintenance and repairs were being conducted. Bjarkmar got out of his cockpit. Apparently, some space junk had made tiny breaches trough the reinforced durantanium steel. " What the hell happened here?!" Bjarkmar shouted. " As I said, a meteorite storm. It poured through our holds." Said the shipyard master. " Then explain how you're injured." Asked Bjarkmar. " One big chunk hit me right on the face and just blew away..." " No. The real story." Bjarkmar reacted. The shipyard master sighed. " Okay. We were attacked by some strange people. They seemed Freespacers to us, but we haven't seen them up close." " Oh shit. Black Hand." Bjarkmar remarked.

He ran towards a nearby communications station. There he hailed Kenichi. " This is Takahashi Kenichi. What can I do for you?" It sounded out of the intercom. " Kenichi, it's Skegg. Black Hand have struck here." And then he waved the shipyard master to the intercom. " It's true sir. A couple of Freespacers came in and struck us. We lost four guards. They did heavy damage to the station, sir."
" When did this happen?" Bjarkmar asked. " Last night, sir." The shipyard master answered. " Yeah, of course. Just when I was not here." Bjarkmar punched the wall. " Easy, Bjarkmar. We will get trough this. Continue on repairs. We'll ask for help from the Legion. Kenichi out." " This is outrageous. You, get the station back on track right now! We've lost enough time. Jeez." Bjarkmar walked out of the space-port, towards his office. He saw that many of the walkway were luckily intact. He took the turbo-lift, and shook is head. " Something's not right here."

Too be continued...

 

[Yoerik]

Takahashi Tower, 12/6/YE 36

" Get a move on people! Edgar, how's the situation going?" Asked Kenichi. They had began with clearing up the area. Many vehicles were stuck in the mud. Luckily, it wasn't raining anymore. It was clear and the sun had slightly dried the mud, making it easier to get out the trucks. " Well, sir. To be true: it's gonna take quite some time." Answered Edgar. He had taken over control over the ICD temporary, since Odaka was still in medbay. Progress was being made, slowly. At least 3 trucks were put out of the mud. But in contrast, 5 of them were soaked in permanently. They would have to get cranes to pull them out. Luckily the Legion could help, if they agreed. And that was the main problem. They did not response yet.

 

[Yoerik]

Battle-torn Fields, 16/6/YE 36

" We're almost done sir. Only a few other materials need to get inside. After that, we'll ship it to Alpha." Said Edgar. They had worked for six days to get all the mess cleaned up. To clean it up wasn't that hard, but Takahashi insisted on completing the project. And so they had to remove all junk and vehicles from the sites. Luckily all of it could be melted and modelled into an usable form. It was all getting to Prototype City Alpha, as it was now called. The metals would be very useful after all. " Good. Get it all done, and after that, you can take the rest of the day off." Answered Kenichi. Cheers were heard from across the Fields. All the workers were exhausted from the six-day-long non-stop work. All metal was brought in, and loaded onto the freighters. But some of it was transported by truck as well.

" Stand by for comlink with CPA." Said Odaka. She had recovered from her wounds, but for safety she was removed from the field and was only on monitoring duty. " Copy that, Kinzo. Can you handle it please?" Answered Kenichi. " *Sigh*, as you wish boss. Still to scared to talk to the Legion, Hey?" Said Odaka and giggled. " No, it's not that. Let's just say that you have better manners, so to speak." Answered Kenichi. They all laughed. " I guess it's my duty to be building a town then, I guess." Odaka said after a long silence.

End of chapter 1

 

[Yoerik]

Epilogue

Danketsu Station, 18/6/YE 36

" 'Skegg' reporting in from Archives. We've discovered that some files got missing. Request for analysis, over?" Bjarkmar said. They had been searching trough the ITC database for days now, but only today they learned about some files gone missing. " Archives? This pile of dusty paperwork and agey computing hardly resembles an archive. Not even a library of sorts." The harbour master complained. Since he screwed up on the whole Black Hand affair, he was ordered to accompany Skeggason on his search. " Cut the chatter, Master. Permission to engage granted." Kenichi said through the intercom. " Copy that. We'll begin research now. Master, you're gonna help me find it, understood?!" Bjarkmar answered. " Aye aye captain!" The harbour master replied.