Editing Starfire (short story)
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Line 1: − {{otheruses|the story|other uses|Starfire}} − {{InfoBoxStory {{InfoBoxStory | image = | image = Line 22:
Line 20: As they are inbound, planetologist [[Beth Ann Lindstrom]] and the narrator discuss available data and find that Rosetta, a moon of a near-[[w:brown dwarf|brown dwarf]] gas giant, is a marginally habitable "geological mess" in a rather unusual planetary system. It is recorded as "variable", but they fail to understand why, as it is tidally locked to the gas giant; they figure this won't be relevant for their quick objective raid. An old Star League colony of domes and half-buried habitats still exists on the moon's dark side, and local traffic control challenges their DropShip shortly after arriving in-system, to which they respond with a cover story. As they are inbound, planetologist [[Beth Ann Lindstrom]] and the narrator discuss available data and find that Rosetta, a moon of a near-[[w:brown dwarf|brown dwarf]] gas giant, is a marginally habitable "geological mess" in a rather unusual planetary system. It is recorded as "variable", but they fail to understand why, as it is tidally locked to the gas giant; they figure this won't be relevant for their quick objective raid. An old Star League colony of domes and half-buried habitats still exists on the moon's dark side, and local traffic control challenges their DropShip shortly after arriving in-system, to which they respond with a cover story. − The target depot is located on sulfur flats on the moon's "day side" facing the gas giant, 3,000 km from the nearest settlement. They ground their DropShip in a rocky area just over two kilometers from the site and deploy, with [[Mike Connelly]]'s ''Cicada'' sent out for patrol while Kirkpatrick's ''Atlas'' is used effectively as a WorkMech to dig into the sulfur crust at the foot of the mountains after a flow of molten sulfur, presumed to have resulted from volcanic activity, had sealed off the depot's entrance long ago. After forty hours of working in shifts they have gained access to the depot, well below the sulfur surface. Chris observes vintage [[Star League era]] 'Mechs in the depot including a ''[[Griffin]]'', ''[[Shadow Hawk]]'', and several ''[[Riflemen]]''. The real prize however are thousands of intact [[Headhunter Missile|HHM Starfire Mark 2500]] missiles in crates marked M-2500, thought by the narrator to be "the lost Holy Grail of military technology" that will "change the course of modern warfare." + The target depot is located on sulfur flats on the moon's "day side" facing the gas giant, 3,000 km from the nearest settlement. They ground their DropShip in a rocky area just over two kilometers from the site and deploy, with [[Mike Connelly]]'s ''Cicada'' sent out for patrol while Kirkpatrick's ''Atlas'' is used effectively as a WorkMech to dig into the sulfur crust at the foot of the mountains after a flow of molten sulfur, presumed to have resulted from volcanic activity, had sealed off the depot's entrance long ago. After forty hours of working in shifts they have gained access to the depot, well below the sulfur surface. Chris observes vintage [[Star League era]] 'Mechs in the depot including a ''[[Griffin]]'', ''[[Shadow Hawk]]'' and several ''[[Riflemen]]''. The real prize however are thousands of intact [[Headhunter Missile|HHM Starfire Mark 2500]] missiles in crates marked M-2500, thought by the narrator to be "the lost Holy Grail of military technology" that will "change the course of modern warfare." Just as they prepare to recover their find, Connelly reports that local forces are approaching with [[Pegasus (Combat Vehicle - Hovertank)|Pegasus]] hovertanks. He is ordered to fall back to the dig site, where the ''Atlas'', tanks and DropShip can provide cover fire, but the faster vehicles keep harassing his retreating 'Mech. One fires an [[SRM]] volley that hits close to the cockpit and, among other damage, wrecks the comm system. Connelly eventually manages to bring his damaged ''Cicada'' back to friendly lines, but it turns out he was heavily wounded and is barely conscious. At the sight of his fellow [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] being carried away by medics, Kirkpatrick—who was already itching to leave his post on the firing line and meet the hovertanks in battle—finally snaps and moves out to destroy the hovertanks, ignoring orders to come back. Staying beyond his effective weapons range, the much faster hovertanks lure the lumbering ''Atlas'' further out until it suddenly breaks through the sulfur crust and is stuck in liquid sulfur beneath, like a man breaking through thin ice. Just as they prepare to recover their find, Connelly reports that local forces are approaching with [[Pegasus (Combat Vehicle - Hovertank)|Pegasus]] hovertanks. He is ordered to fall back to the dig site, where the ''Atlas'', tanks and DropShip can provide cover fire, but the faster vehicles keep harassing his retreating 'Mech. One fires an [[SRM]] volley that hits close to the cockpit and, among other damage, wrecks the comm system. Connelly eventually manages to bring his damaged ''Cicada'' back to friendly lines, but it turns out he was heavily wounded and is barely conscious. At the sight of his fellow [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] being carried away by medics, Kirkpatrick—who was already itching to leave his post on the firing line and meet the hovertanks in battle—finally snaps and moves out to destroy the hovertanks, ignoring orders to come back. Staying beyond his effective weapons range, the much faster hovertanks lure the lumbering ''Atlas'' further out until it suddenly breaks through the sulfur crust and is stuck in liquid sulfur beneath, like a man breaking through thin ice. Line 30:
Line 28: In an attempt to help Kirkpatrick and his stricken 'Mech, the narrator mounts up on the damaged ''Cicada'' and races out, but cannot prevent the Pegasus hovertanks from wrecking the helpless ''Atlas'' which ultimately perishes in an ammunition explosion. With the surface literally melting from under them and the dig site being flooded with liquid sulfur, the dig team abandon their mission and retreat to the DropShip empty-handed. In an attempt to help Kirkpatrick and his stricken 'Mech, the narrator mounts up on the damaged ''Cicada'' and races out, but cannot prevent the Pegasus hovertanks from wrecking the helpless ''Atlas'' which ultimately perishes in an ammunition explosion. With the surface literally melting from under them and the dig site being flooded with liquid sulfur, the dig team abandon their mission and retreat to the DropShip empty-handed. − On the return trip, they learn of the outbreak of the [[Fourth Succession War]], making a follow-up mission seem unlikely in the near future. The narrator mourns for Kirkpatrick, acknowledging his bravery "even if he ''was'' an idiot," and privately also wonders if the Pegasus hovertanks had used recovered Headhunter Missiles against them, as the SRM volley that had almost killed Connelly had been an unlikely and notably lucky shot where many if not all SRMs had hit the 'Mech just below the cockpit and penetrated the armor. + On the return trip, they learn of the outbreak of the [[Fourth Succession War]], making a follow-up mission seem unlikely in the near future. The narrator mourns for Kirkpatrick, acknowledging his bravery "even if he ''was'' an idiot", and privately also wonders if the Pegasus hovertanks had used recovered Headhunter Missiles against them, as the SRM volley that had almost killed Connelly had been an unlikely and notably lucky shot where many if not all SRMs had hit the 'Mech just below the cockpit and penetrated the armor. ==Featured characters== ==Featured characters==
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As they are inbound, planetologist [[Beth Ann Lindstrom]] and the narrator discuss available data and find that Rosetta, a moon of a near-[[w:brown dwarf|brown dwarf]] gas giant, is a marginally habitable "geological mess" in a rather unusual planetary system. It is recorded as "variable", but they fail to understand why, as it is tidally locked to the gas giant; they figure this won't be relevant for their quick objective raid. An old Star League colony of domes and half-buried habitats still exists on the moon's dark side, and local traffic control challenges their DropShip shortly after arriving in-system, to which they respond with a cover story. | As they are inbound, planetologist [[Beth Ann Lindstrom]] and the narrator discuss available data and find that Rosetta, a moon of a near-[[w:brown dwarf|brown dwarf]] gas giant, is a marginally habitable "geological mess" in a rather unusual planetary system. It is recorded as "variable", but they fail to understand why, as it is tidally locked to the gas giant; they figure this won't be relevant for their quick objective raid. An old Star League colony of domes and half-buried habitats still exists on the moon's dark side, and local traffic control challenges their DropShip shortly after arriving in-system, to which they respond with a cover story. | ||
| − | The target depot is located on sulfur flats on the moon's "day side" facing the gas giant, 3,000 km from the nearest settlement. They ground their DropShip in a rocky area just over two kilometers from the site and deploy, with [[Mike Connelly]]'s ''Cicada'' sent out for patrol while Kirkpatrick's ''Atlas'' is used effectively as a WorkMech to dig into the sulfur crust at the foot of the mountains after a flow of molten sulfur, presumed to have resulted from volcanic activity, had sealed off the depot's entrance long ago. After forty hours of working in shifts they have gained access to the depot, well below the sulfur surface. Chris observes vintage [[Star League era]] 'Mechs in the depot including a ''[[Griffin]]'', ''[[Shadow Hawk]]'' | + | The target depot is located on sulfur flats on the moon's "day side" facing the gas giant, 3,000 km from the nearest settlement. They ground their DropShip in a rocky area just over two kilometers from the site and deploy, with [[Mike Connelly]]'s ''Cicada'' sent out for patrol while Kirkpatrick's ''Atlas'' is used effectively as a WorkMech to dig into the sulfur crust at the foot of the mountains after a flow of molten sulfur, presumed to have resulted from volcanic activity, had sealed off the depot's entrance long ago. After forty hours of working in shifts they have gained access to the depot, well below the sulfur surface. Chris observes vintage [[Star League era]] 'Mechs in the depot including a ''[[Griffin]]'', ''[[Shadow Hawk]]'' and several ''[[Riflemen]]''. The real prize however are thousands of intact [[Headhunter Missile|HHM Starfire Mark 2500]] missiles in crates marked M-2500, thought by the narrator to be "the lost Holy Grail of military technology" that will "change the course of modern warfare." |
Just as they prepare to recover their find, Connelly reports that local forces are approaching with [[Pegasus (Combat Vehicle - Hovertank)|Pegasus]] hovertanks. He is ordered to fall back to the dig site, where the ''Atlas'', tanks and DropShip can provide cover fire, but the faster vehicles keep harassing his retreating 'Mech. One fires an [[SRM]] volley that hits close to the cockpit and, among other damage, wrecks the comm system. Connelly eventually manages to bring his damaged ''Cicada'' back to friendly lines, but it turns out he was heavily wounded and is barely conscious. At the sight of his fellow [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] being carried away by medics, Kirkpatrick—who was already itching to leave his post on the firing line and meet the hovertanks in battle—finally snaps and moves out to destroy the hovertanks, ignoring orders to come back. Staying beyond his effective weapons range, the much faster hovertanks lure the lumbering ''Atlas'' further out until it suddenly breaks through the sulfur crust and is stuck in liquid sulfur beneath, like a man breaking through thin ice. | Just as they prepare to recover their find, Connelly reports that local forces are approaching with [[Pegasus (Combat Vehicle - Hovertank)|Pegasus]] hovertanks. He is ordered to fall back to the dig site, where the ''Atlas'', tanks and DropShip can provide cover fire, but the faster vehicles keep harassing his retreating 'Mech. One fires an [[SRM]] volley that hits close to the cockpit and, among other damage, wrecks the comm system. Connelly eventually manages to bring his damaged ''Cicada'' back to friendly lines, but it turns out he was heavily wounded and is barely conscious. At the sight of his fellow [[MechWarrior (pilot)|MechWarrior]] being carried away by medics, Kirkpatrick—who was already itching to leave his post on the firing line and meet the hovertanks in battle—finally snaps and moves out to destroy the hovertanks, ignoring orders to come back. Staying beyond his effective weapons range, the much faster hovertanks lure the lumbering ''Atlas'' further out until it suddenly breaks through the sulfur crust and is stuck in liquid sulfur beneath, like a man breaking through thin ice. | ||
| Line 30: | Line 28: | ||
In an attempt to help Kirkpatrick and his stricken 'Mech, the narrator mounts up on the damaged ''Cicada'' and races out, but cannot prevent the Pegasus hovertanks from wrecking the helpless ''Atlas'' which ultimately perishes in an ammunition explosion. With the surface literally melting from under them and the dig site being flooded with liquid sulfur, the dig team abandon their mission and retreat to the DropShip empty-handed. | In an attempt to help Kirkpatrick and his stricken 'Mech, the narrator mounts up on the damaged ''Cicada'' and races out, but cannot prevent the Pegasus hovertanks from wrecking the helpless ''Atlas'' which ultimately perishes in an ammunition explosion. With the surface literally melting from under them and the dig site being flooded with liquid sulfur, the dig team abandon their mission and retreat to the DropShip empty-handed. | ||
| − | On the return trip, they learn of the outbreak of the [[Fourth Succession War]], making a follow-up mission seem unlikely in the near future. The narrator mourns for Kirkpatrick, acknowledging his bravery "even if he ''was'' an idiot, | + | On the return trip, they learn of the outbreak of the [[Fourth Succession War]], making a follow-up mission seem unlikely in the near future. The narrator mourns for Kirkpatrick, acknowledging his bravery "even if he ''was'' an idiot", and privately also wonders if the Pegasus hovertanks had used recovered Headhunter Missiles against them, as the SRM volley that had almost killed Connelly had been an unlikely and notably lucky shot where many if not all SRMs had hit the 'Mech just below the cockpit and penetrated the armor. |
==Featured characters== | ==Featured characters== | ||