Battle Born Vagabond Prequel

Chapter 19: Complete Failure: Alto Griffin: September 11, 4996

Checking systems on my mech for the upcoming mission. It's actually turning out to be a pretty large scale mission. Women are being transferred in mobile cages. Weapons, mech and other equipment are also being transported. It will be in a reverse V-formation unless we decide otherwise later. I'm almost done and over the intercom "Czar Reaux has alerted us that he will be over here in 10 minutes". I start putting up my torque wrenches and crescent wrenches down the ladder, I have 10, maybe 20 different tools up with me. The intercom starts up again, "He lied, get to the pad he is here." I drop everything and leap off the ladder and bolt to the pad on this floor.

I get in my spot and stand at attention next to my superior. He takes count really quick and goes to the front center of the group making me known second in command. Bōkun walks by us and keeps going. "Men it is 0640 and today might only be a support mission for another state of this NonUnited States but my son and those whores who he calls friends and family have become a pain in my ass. So I have decided to make their base a secondary mission for this and they are to be bombed. Some other men have tried to take them down only to be captured and killed. At present time my son and his village has 14 mech and the payloads of 3 different planes. But I have never tried a large team against them."

Someone in another team asks "what about our payloads? How are we going to put bombs in there? And if we are bombing them then how are we keeping the cargo that we are trading and where are we meeting their transport for a trade off?"

"That was many questions hero, but each of them valid. I have kept this secret from the main ones on the mission because people I kept sending to destroy my son's base kept getting captured. Only they and the night crew knew they were doing maintenance on their own vehicles getting them ready. They should be arriving any minute now to get loaded onto their bombers. They will have holograms to look just like more transporters. Pretend they are and protect them. And as for the actual trading of the woman after you bomb my son's base until it is off the topographic maps we have. Then you go about 50 km north to an open clearing and they will be waiting there." Someone else raises their hand, and Bōkun teleports to them "oh check this out a sir has a question. Yes, sir what do you need?"

"I noticed that since the beginning when we started talking about this mission a few months ago we had 8 mech and experienced pilots for them we are currently down to 2 of each, I would feel more comfortable with this mission if we had two more minimal. Is that an unreasonable request?"

"Absolutely not. Do you have someone in mind?"

"No I do not, I was hoping you knew someone, my job is keeping track of the ammo and power reserves for all energy weapons, I don't know the users I apologize."

"Thank you for doing your job, I'll find someone."

"Anyone else?" He starts to be louder, "Anyone. Anyone at all." He teleports to the front. "Ok if you are a pilot, engineer or mech pilot you are dismissed to finish your lists of maintenance and equipment tests. I need everyone else to talk to them."

I walk away and finish what I need to on my mech. near the end, we are just talking amongst each other. A young buck "Private first class Healy 3" walks up to me saying he has been voluntold to go on today's mission for 25,000 points to be the 5th mech pilot because it was such short notice. He is bright eyed like he has never seen anything but the base he is only 3 months out of basic and he will not shut up. I help him with his mech, this little shit has become my backup, I don't understand how I can trust someone, how I can be friends with someone who is pretty much smaller than my shits. He also tells me that the new formation is the rotating pyramid because now there are 5 mech to be defenders of the other "freights"

Before I know it even though I'm not going through the lists of tests and maintaining for his mech or a mech of one of his buddies we are forced to go through and start up our mech and get on top of our perspective fighters as our personal gliders. I'm not having a good feeling about it, two privates pretty fresh out of basic training no real training out of the holograms for these and it's predicted to be the most dangerous mission of the quarter. Possibly the year, I am glad I have Hero Adam West as my 3rd in the formation and I'm 2nd in formation. West has proven himself and I was a young buck when he was already and Alto he's slowed down in his old age. But he has some amazing highlights of skills in his prime so he hasn't needed to keep up with himself even though in his private life he doesn't seem to be all there anymore.