The enemy base was on an arid planet. Not really a planet, as it was really a moon orbiting a gas planet. It was far enough from the sun to get little or no warmth from the red giant, but the massive planet is circled gave it just enough heat to allow some life to have developed. Therefore, it was not surprising to see a tiny snakelike creature trying to sun itself in the reflected light from the massive heavenly object. Captain Mist looked down from the sand dune, her suit's circuitry allowing her to see the snake even in the twilight of the planet's day cycle. The visor overlaid the visible image with the infrared signature of the creature. Sensors dismissed the tiny animal as a target with low priority. A red timer was counting down in the right corner of her helmet's display screen. <05:34> Mist tilted her head up and her view automatically zoomed to the enemy base that was the true target of the mission. It was her job to lead the 3 Platoons of the 54th Tactical Armor Company to victory by destroying the base. Of course, she was getting lots of help. Behind her, next to the twenty-nine other battle suits piloted by her sisters, were four tanks from the Third Armored Division. The four hover tanks were preparing to fire a creeping barrage onto the Hive's base. They were linked by cables, which allowed the gunners to carefully program the computer computers. When the main guns did open up they would not be wasting more than one round per target. <04:45> As the tank turrets hummed and slowly aimed the main guns, Mist checked the status of her company. All the suits within the platoons replied with a green light. Captain Mist checked her own suit. The fuel cells for the jets had been replaced by intake compressors. The very atmosphere of the planet would now fuel her backpack and leg engines, meaning she could use them to jump and leap around without running out of gas. Unlike in space, unfortunately, she would not be able to fly, but the jump jets would allow her to outpace any of the mecha present. The fission warheads in her missiles had been replaced by fuel-air warheads which might prove very dangerous with all the unknowns about the base, but the planners at HQ had felt the new warheads would be more effective on the wind swept surface of the moon. Frankly, the thinkers at HQ didn't know much of anything. They didn't even know why the Hive had a base out here in the first place. Was the base a tracking station or a storage area? Maybe a research lab for testing dangerous weapons or maybe nothing more then a training ground for newly commissioned units? <02:23> Mist allowed her targeting computer to scan the base. It chirped happily, as it noticed the Hive's battle suits that patrolled about the base's buildings. Huge, massive bipedal weapons platforms which were nothing more than huge walking auto cannons that fired supersonic shells. Unlike most projectiles the mecha's shells had no warheads as they would have been redundant with all the kinetic energy behind each round. <00:23> Captain Mist warmed up her jet jumps, as the three platoons moved forward, preparing to launch the attack. Captain Jay's tank flashed its front lights, to alert her to the readiness of the tanks to support the attack. <00:10> Mist took one last glance at the sky. Up there the two sides were still battling it out. A dozen Hive transports were trying to escape the planetary system after being ambushed by a group of Haven cruisers and high speed fighters. The conflict was a two sided affair, as Hive transports were both heavily armed and shielded, as powerful as dreadnoughts. The builders among the Hive always seemed to think bigger was better. Kaki was up there. The officer and pilot who had debriefed her after her first mission. He had seemed nice to her and very interested in what she had been thinking during her mission. Of course he, like Captain Jay, was old. At least 20 years out of the vats. She was amazed they were both still alive and kicking after so long. <00:05> Mist triggered her jump jets and led three platoons of Tactical Suits into the first long distance leap, arching high over the sand dunes and thorny brushes. She watched the base, checking it for increased activity, as her and her sister pilots roared towards it. Behind her came the thunder of four guns firing nonstop. The first shells would fall on the outer fringe of the base and than work inwards, to catch as many of the defenders unaware as they could. Not all the shells were explosive in nature. Some of the warheads would release smoke or napalm, others were programmed to explode while in the air or had delay fuses which allowed them to dig into the ground before exploding. The rounds shrieked over the tactical suits and soon the base was being ripped about by the high-velocity volleys. Shock wave after shock wave shook the ground and many of the solid looking structures were turned to splinters from pressure waves caused by some of the more powerful air bursts. <00:01> Mist's suit slammed into the ground, right at the edge of this desolation, her missile launchers popping open. Gyros screams to keep her upright as the electronics of her suit allowed her some awareness of her surroundings. Other suits seemed to be dropping out of the sky, into the black smoke and yellow flames. <00:00> The shelling stopped. The timer stopped one count down and started another. Mist and the rest of the tactical suits had only ten minutes before pick up. <09:59> Mist's suit swift scanned the nearby rubble. Fragments of stone and metal was still raining down from the sky. The wind cleared some of the dust and right before her stood a Hive battle suit. It had been gutted and even as she watched was starting to tip over, pouring out oily smoke. The first sign that there was still a battle going on was when she heard the launch of missiles and a few seconds later a series of fuel-air explosions rocked the base. Part of the battlefield lit up as the chain of explosions linked together and grew, feeding on the very air and dust around them. A Hive armored car was consumed in the fireball. She noticed a few members of the Third Platoon were leapfrogging past her left flank. While still new to combat the pilots within the suits were holding their fire till they had real targets. They were heading for one of only buildings that seemed to be standing and in one piece. There they would be able to access the underground chambers and find out what the mission of the base was. <08:45> Suddenly the ground next to her left leg exploded as a high-velocity round slammed into it. She triggered her jets while at the same time firing a volley of missiles at the dark shadow that had appeared before her. Her missiles hit the target and exploded, clearing the dust out of the air and exposing the Hive mecha as it continued to stomp forward, the auto cannon blazing at the spot she HAD been standing on. The missiles ruptured part of the metal giant's left hip, while turning the armor on the legs into shreds like clothe. Even covered in the glowing flames it kept marching. Mist fired a second full volley. The missiles spat out even before she landed, hitting the other machine fully in the slopped frontal armor as it turned to face her. The layers of armor were peeled back and inner robotic machinery exploded outwards, giving the chest the appearance of a wound pouring out burning bodily organs. This finally forced it to skid to a halt but the damn machine kept firing. The turret was untouched and the cannon's sensors within it were trying to guess her movements. As the gun tried to zero in on her she was forced to leap again, over a burning pool of mystery liquid, her suit's jammers trying to confuse the Hive warrior's own equipment. <07:54> Even as she heard her suit reload fresh missiles from her suit's magazine in the launchers she realized she couldn't slug it out with the enemy machine. It outweighed her by at least 90 tons and who knew how many rounds it had to waste? Trying to attack it with energy swords would be her only hope. If only she could get past the barrel and stab her blades right into the turret she could open it like a can of pudding! Right as the swords appeared her in hands the enemy machine seemed to be center-punched, flame and debris flying out of the hole already in its chest. Mist stared for a few seconds, before hearing the hiss that seemed to be growing. She grinned to herself, as Jay's tank appeared, rushing over the sand on a cushion of air. The hiss was the skirts rubbing over the packed sand that acted like pavement within the base. The other three tanks were close behind, their own turrets moving back and forth, as inside the gunners and drivers searched for new prey. Her radio crackled and Jay's voice poured into her ears. "Stop fooling around and get exploring. We'll handle anything left out here. The pickup ship will be here in less than seven minutes!" <06:32> Mist found the building's entrance blasted open. She slipped her tactical suit past the scorched door frame and started down the damaged stairway. It looked more like a ramp, made out of very long, shallow steps. It was very different from stairways used by the humanoid races that dominated the local universe. A couple of times it was necessary to use her jump jets to make small leaps over holes in the floor. There were also a few damaged vehicles blocking her way down the spiraling ramp. She allowed her suit's system to scan one as she bounced past and realized that the vehicle was nonmilitary in nature. Some kind of powered cart with a driver who was burnt beyond recognition. <05:24> Finally before her, at the end of the last step was a huge door. It had been forced open by brute force and from inside she could hear her sisters using both missiles and swords. Fire and smoke was pouring out of the door but it did not stop her from rushing in. She switched her radio to the company's channel and said, "Remember! We need to carry something back for the scientists!" "Roger sister." "Right Captain." "Yes, sir!" Mist scanned about the first chamber and gasped. All around her eggs and nursing machines burned and exploded. Eggs popped, spraying their insides, as they were cooked by the heat. The machines still functioning tried to save some of the eggs, spraying them with water as fans tried to suck out the heat, but they were fighting a losing fight. At her feet an egg had hatched prematurely. An explosion had ripped the egg case open and a tiny chick, an undeveloped Hive worker, was looking up at her. Bleeding and slightly burnt the tiny baby looked up at her with huge pale eyes and started to mewl. Instinct demanded that the tiny new life bond with the first thing it saw. "It's a nursery," whispered Mist to herself. The chamber shook as another flight of missiles were used farther down in the complex's tunnels. "SHIT!" <04:20> The baby looked down at itself, realizing for the first time that it was something to notice. Its yoke sag was leaking a yellow food to mix with its own purple blood which was pooling onto the floor. It was slowly dying before her very eyes. <03:17> Mist formed a tiny dagger in her right hand, a humming reddish knife of energy. She kneeled down and was about to stab it into the tiny chick's body when she whimpered. "No," she said to herself, the knife dispersing with a soft pop and a flash of light. The pick up ship was on time and after picking up the tanks and remaining tactical suits, it launched itself into space, engines screaming through the atmosphere. It would soon be docking with the troop transport that was already approaching with a small escort of frigates. Inside the fast ship the intelligent officers were going over the items that the troops had collected from the enemy nursery. Mist's item was a shock to them. "You came back with a baby?" said one of the officers, his black uniform crisp and clean. Mist held up the mewling baby. "I gave it first aid, but it will need to be transferred to the hospital ship once we are back with the Fourth Fleet." "Are you crazy?" said the officer, pulling out his side arm. "We're not taking that-" His movement was brought to a stop by the sound of humming swords, as five of Mist's fellow clones, her sisters in arms, stepped forward. One of them, named Dale, moved her sword close to the officer's throat and said, "You yelling at our Captain?" The officer, a member of the military intelligence section was not a combat veteran and was not a breed known for swift reflexes. He was not going to be able to get off a shot before he died. "I would let it drop sir," said a voice from the other side of the rumbling passenger chamber. Captain Jay stepped forward, out of the shadow of his cooling tank, a can of beer in his right hand. Jay popped it open and the can chilled the beer instantly. He smiled at the officer and added, "The HQ boys wanted data. That chick will give them data. Hell, they'll value it more than your dead body, so you better just drop it." The officer slid his weapon back into the holster and backed off slowly. "The Fourth Fleet Commander will hear of this!" Jay chuckled and thought, ' Support clones always seem so loud.' As the officer stomped off, Mist nodded to Jay and said, "Thank you." She glanced down at the chick and asked, "Do you think the baby can eat some of our rations?" "Hell no," said Jay with a smirk, "we can't even eat our own rations. Wait for the doctors to look it over. They'll have more of an idea of what that little monster can and can't eat." Dale looked somewhat confused. "But I had a ration bar only a few minutes ago." Jay sighed and slurped from of his can of chilled beer. Newbies never had a sense of humor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------- Tenchi Muyo! and related characters are owned by AIC and Pioneer. The rest are mine. I am just borrowing Ryoko's DNA. I promise to give it back.