Chapter 13
The ship plunged towards the Moon’s surface, travelling extremely close to the rocky ground before levelling its descent and passing under the overhanging rockface that sheltered the fissure. Gareth’s piloting skills were on full display, quickly navigating the entranceway before halting its dive and killing the ship’s forward momentum.
Adjusting the thrusters, Gareth hovered the transport above the dark cavern before easing it slowly downwards. The passengers watched the grey rock walls pass from the windows until they gradually widened. The fissure expanded greatly after the initial opening, the ship’s light barely reaching the edges.
“Are you sure this is the place, Milord? I’m still not getting anything on the -,” a beeping from the console interrupted him. Taking his hand off the steering yoke, he pushed several buttons on the screen to his right, pulling up the sensor readings.
“Got something! Looks like faint energy readings and refined metals.” Gareth said, interpreting the analysis on screen. Talha pushed out of her chair, crowding next to the port window and staring into the darkness below.
“Hold on. It should be coming into sight shortly.” Gareth said, gradually drifting the descending ship towards the largest metallic cluster. In moments, Talha could see the floor of the cavern.
The bottom of the fissure was a vast open space, relatively flat and made of hard stone. The transport’s lights reflected off a metal sea, creating a shimmering light field of abandoned technology.
“It’s a junkyard.” Talha murmured into the quiet passenger cabin.
Piles of abandoned equipment lay scattered across the ground. Directly below, she could see mounds of Mech weapons.
Squarish and bulky Heavy Lasguns, Ballistic Autocannons with attached belt-fed ammo boxes. Difficult to use, and famously fragile long barreled Railguns that fired devastatingly powerful rounds of depleted uranium.
Talha observed Missile Launchers, Plasma Rifles, and even large swords, axes and hammers for close combat. Thousands of Mech weapons had been discarded here. At the same time, she could also see crates and containers full of smaller personnel weapons like Laspistols and Rifles, appropriate for soldiers in Powered Exosuits.
Talha could spot the reason they had been abandoned rather quickly. Each was damaged, barrels twisted, or components missing, but they were all perfectly persevered. The depth of the fissure must stop the degradation from cosmic radiation while preventing falling debris from covering them. It was a perfect place for the long-term storage of equipment.
“How did you know where to find this place?” Talha asked, looking away from the collection of weapons and turning back to the Baron. Kal shrugged, shaking his head, refusing to comment. She was about to ask more forcefully when Tamara floated up beside her.
“Let it lie.” Her Grandmother said, recognizing the troubled look on Kal’s face. There was a reason he knew about this stockpile of broken equipment, but he obviously didn’t want to discuss it, and she wouldn’t let Talha push for an answer. He didn’t owe them explanations.
“Are you sure you can use these? They don’t look to be in good shape.” Governor Sylla asked loudly, drawing attention away from Kal. After their short time together, she knew him well enough to understand when he needed space.
“It won’t be a problem. We can cobble together more than enough parts to outfit the Marauders. We’ve worked with less.” Elric replied, standing next to the sensor console and taking detailed scans of the equipment below.
“Fly over here,” Elric said, pointing out a spot on the screen. “That should be where the Mechs are.” He finished, guiding Gareth. The transport slowly glided above the cavern floor, it’s floodlights driving back the darkness.
More equipment came into view, armour segments from Mobile Suits, additional weapons, Mech limbs and crates of components. Elric documented each pile, marking it for future retrieval.
There were even hundreds of Powered Exoskeletons Combat Suits, showing various states of damage. Each was in black and red, the colours of Caledon. Some had bullet holes and lines of burnt black cuts from laser fire.
Adjustable to the wearer's height, the suits were covered in thick armour panels that could absorb bullet fire, kinetic impacts and Laspistol energy. With an enclosed helmet, the user would be protected from the vacuum of space, and the suit had a limited oxygen supply.
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As the ship passed over the equipment, their lights began to reveal more prominent metallic figures and shapes. Mechs and Mobile Suits were casually tossed into the bottom of the ravine. A disorganized mess met Talha’s eyes, and she quickly searched for what they needed.
Mechs came in a variety of shapes and sizes. The smallest was slightly larger than a Powered Combat Suit, a little over 12 feet tall. The ‘Ultra Light’ Class, or Battle Armour as it was known, was a hybrid between the standard Combat Suit and a Mech, a perfect entry point for beginner pilots who were unaccustomed to the strain that Piloting put on the mind and body.
Talha could see dozens of them heaped together. Their humanoid shape reminded her of medieval knights from Old Terra. Small, agile and capable of leaping to great heights with the use of thrusters, they were perfect for urban combat. Being lightly armoured, they would be shredded in a firefight against Mechs.
“They looked like they were chewed up and spit out.” Talha said, assessing the damage to the units. They may be able to salvage a functional Ultra Light out of every three or four here, but it would be time-consuming.
“More over here, about the same condition.” Elric said from the front, highlighting more.
“We’ll need them. They are ideal for what we need. Without unnecessary collateral damage, we can’t send heavier mechs into city centres.” Tamara said, having Elric mark them as a high priority.
The ship continued to pass over more machines, Light Class ‘Scout’ Mechs, with their speedy limbs and slender bodies. These were in better shape, with only a few holes or burn marks in critical systems, but they had the components the Marauders needed.
Gareth whistled as the front lights revealed a bulkier machine. Over 60 feet high, it appeared to be in pristine condition until they could see its back. A weapon slashed or cut it, and the center cockpit where the pilot resided was cruelly gouged out.
“Bulwark. Medium class.” Elric said, recognizing it immediately. Heavily armoured, with stocky limbs and a broad body, it lived up to its name, capable of taking a pounding on the front lines. The Marauders didn’t have one. They preferred faster or long-range combat Mechs.
“Could we fix it?” Talha asked, hating to leave it behind. Her parents had called her a ‘collector’ growing up, always wanting a complete set of anything she found interesting. It had been books, figurines, and now Mechs. She could picture it standing in line with the others on display.
“No. Even if we could, our medium-class Pilots haven’t been trained on it. Ignore it and move on.” Tamara ordered, directing Gareth to travel to the next location. The transport glided forward, revealing more machines, hundreds of Mechs, with signs of battle. Light, Medium, Heavy, and even a few premier Assault classes were here.
There were more than enough salvageable components to have the Marauders up and running quickly, with their full complement of technicians ready to get to work immediately. As Tamara, Elric and Talha discussed the logistics of getting the salvage back to their Starship, Sylla watched Kal with a nervous eye.
The Baron had grown solemn and quiet, staring out the window at the damaged equipment around them without any visible emotion. In the short time Sylla had known him, he had never been like this. Kal was usually engaging and quick with a smile or a snappy remark, putting everyone at ease. It was as if he were waiting for something. What could he-”
“I’m picking up something big on the sensors.” Gareth said, interrupting the Governor’s thoughts. At the remark, Kal started a slight, involuntary movement that Sylla would never have noticed if she hadn’t been staring at him.
“Strange. There’s some interference. I can’t get a clearer reading.” Elric said, moving away from the window and back to the sensor console. Pulling up the display, he tried to enhance the image, but it wasn’t working.
“It’s coming from something ahead. See? It must be just over that hill.” Gareth said, pointing out the front window at a greyish object. It became increasingly more detailed as they came closer. What he had mistaken for a hill was a Starship, it’s body massive, dwarfing their transport ship by order of magnitude.
The Starship was heavily damaged, the hull split apart by energy weapons and multiple explosions. It was covered in a layer of rock and debris from where it crashed to the fissure's surface. On the side, the red stag of the Duchy of Caledon stood prominent. Below the House symbol, where the name of the Starship would be written, the damage had obscured it.
“I don’t remember the Duke losing a Starship on Luna. What is this doing here?” Elric asked, turning to Tamara for an answer. She shook her head at the questions, she had never heard of its loss.
“I can check the records when we return, see if anything is written about it. Maybe we can discover its name.” Sylla offered.
“The Aurora. It was named after my Grandmother,” Kal spoke, intruding on their conversation. Seeing their confused and curious expressions, he sighed before continuing.
“I had it hidden here, part of my scheme of ending the Rebellion. The crew would smuggle me off Caledon to Luna, and from there, I would go to the Emperor. A willing hostage. It was my last ditch effort to stop my Father.” Kal explained.
“What happened?” Sylla asked.
“I was young and stupid. I hadn’t learned to cover my tracks very well. He destroyed the Starship, confined me to the Palace and punished Luna City.” Kal said, staring at the wreck of the Aurora.
“As I said, Tamara. I know who is to blame for my failures.” He finished, turning away from the viewscreen and ordering Gareth to take them back. Kal wanted to return to Caledon and be alone with his thoughts.
The transport left the fissure, leaving the husks of Mechs and the ruined Starship behind. They had unravelled the mystery of Kalen Caledon’s knowledge of the junkyard’s existence, but no one on board was happy with the revelation.