//------------------------------// // Campfire and Hellfire // Story: Chassis // by LoosePartyCannon //------------------------------// Delta As I sat on the cold stone caves floor I wondered if the others where in a better state than me. I'd crash landed in the middle of a frozen field and was knocked unconscious when my face smashed into the Chassis console. Thankfully my helmet took most of the damage, though I still suffered some bruising and a lost tooth. Waking up I found myself in the middle of a blizzard at night. My Chassis was rendered useless as major damage and an exposed core had left the Chassis broken beyond basic repair. Snow was falling in at a rapid rate as the cracks and holes in the reinforced glass was big enough to fit a fist through. Prying open the supply hatches I removed my survival kit filled with food, water, a sleeping bag, basic radio, flares, a loaded handgun, digital compass and map and a first aid kit. Now with two loaded sidearms and enough food and water to last me two weeks alone I shot through the damaged glass and shattered it completely, letting the snow in. Stepping outside I saw just how badly damaged the Chassis was. It was missing its left leg and the right arm was torn open, leaving scattergun shells lying in the snow. The Chassis was beyond a simple blowtorch and scrap metal repair. deciding for now my priority was finding shelter and weathering out the blizzard I lit a flare and walked off into the storm. I soon found myself thanking my thick plumage, though some may call it fluffy I call it natural heating, if it weren't for my feathers I don't think I would have lasted long with just a LANS on in such an aggressive blizzard. True, LANS where designed to withstand extreme cold and heat, something about the blizzard seemed particularly cold, almost unnaturally cold. The flare offered enough light to see a few feet ahead of me but for now it would have to do. As I marched through the snow I started to see the outline of a cliff ahead of me and I thought I saw a glow along the cliff face. Once I had reached the cliff I saw it was a small ways up, about ten feet above me. Preparing myself, I spread my wings and jumped into the air and boosted myslef up with a few flaps of my wings. My wings, though protected by a long silver metal beam that curved along the length of wing and several smaller metal beams with various lights and tubes, where almost frozen stiff. It was incredibly hard to stay upright and airborne for more then a few seconds but it was all I needed as I landed roughly in the snow. I had dropped my flare below on the ground but it was nothing to worry about, in front of me was a small cave, big enough for me to fit into, and the faint glow was coming from inside. Ducking my head I crawled into the cave and saw it was much bigger on the inside. In the center of the cave sat a small pile of burning wood and a dying fire. If the signs of a hasty pack up was anything to go by who ever was here left shortly before I arrived. There was still indents in the dirt and snow covered ground that had the outline of a few sleeping bags, what looked like paw prints in the snow and the faint smell of cooked meat. Who ever was here must have left, if they where coming back or not I did not care, I was out of the deadly storm and had finally found a heat source, that's all that mattered in the short run. I arrived an hour ago and found myself deep in thought while I warmed myself up around the fire. I had a small meal from the survival kit cooking over the fire and I had put my sleeping bag down next to me. Ready made meals may be useful but a cool bit of steak and mash was not what I needed right now. My radio only picked up static but I could have sworn I picked up something as I was turning the different dials, it sounded like coordinates or something, but it was too distorted to make out. As I stuck one of my talons into the steak that was resting on a stone around the fire and raised it to my mouth to take a bit of it I began to have my doubts about survival. I was a natural hunter and I could survival the cold as long as it isn't a constant blizzard but what happens when I run out of food or ammo? I could use my knife or my claws if I run out of bullets but what if there is no viable food source? And with my chassis collecting snow in a field I was mostly defenseless from any large predators. Soldiers tell ghost stories of what happens when a small team of marines go dark on an unexplored planet and usually if the environment doesn't kill you its the native life. "Frontier life sucks, when this is over i'm taking the next Frigate back to Avia and getting a desk job, less chance of getting stranded on a fucking frozen rock...Huh, could use some sauce but not bad." I muttered out loud as I ate the stake, content on getting a decent meal. After devouring the meat and potatoes I was feeling a little more motivated to not give up. The snow was starting to fade and I could just make out the wreck of my chassis through the tundra. After wiping my claws on my suits pants and picking up my two guns I made my way back out into the open and made my way down the cliff face. It was a short walk back to my Chassis as the winds were starting to calm down. Upon closer inspection I saw just how badly the Chassis was damaged. The wiring and circuits were still intact but the scattergun was torn in half, the leg was destroyed completely which meant I will need it replaced and the cockpit was so badly damaged that i'm amazed I didn't go flying out of the many holes in the helms armor when I landed. In short it was going to stay here for now. As I grabbed the last of my supplies consisting of my clothes and a few extra clips I heard something behind me move. "Halt! By the order of the High King you are ordered to stand down and prepare for inspection scrapper!" Someone shouted behind me. Quickly I turned around and saw about twenty armored creatures. They all wore extravagant gold armour with fur clothes beneath for warmth. They wore helmets that covered almost all of their faces aside from their short becks. Like my suits gloves their armored gauntlets had slits cut into it so their claws could get through and also had wings on their backs. They seemed remarkably similar to me, aside from their strange tails and slight difference in height. They all had swords and shields drawn and had what looked like primitive pistols at their sides. The one speaking to me wore a red cape and had his pistol and sword drawn, both gold plated handles and a silver blade/barrel. He was clearly the highest ranking member. Too many to take on in a melee, if I used my pistols I could kill them all but I get the feeling I'll be labeled a criminal, and that's not something I want leaving this planet. "I don't want any trouble, but I will fight back if I have-" I tried to say before I was rudely interrupted. "Silence. Until proven otherwise you are a threat. Where did you get your armor and weapons scrapper?" He shouted at me. "These are mine, along with this wreck." I replied. "Liar, no craftsmen in all of the Altai highlands could have craft your weaponry and that thing is clearly not of this world. You thought you could take something and sell it before the guards would arrive? How daft are you?" He accused. "Listen to me, i'm not from here, these are my weapons and this was my machine. I don't want any trouble but if you don't leave I will be forced to retaliate." I informed him, hoping he would listen. "Your lies will not trick me scrapper, come quietly and we will not use force. This is your final warning." I don't have time for this, my squad mates could be in danger and instead of trying to find them I'm being given the third degree from some primitive? I really didn't want to do this. I raised my gun and turned off the safety and went to shot him. But the second I pulled the trigger a cloaked figure grabbed my arm and pushed it up, making me miss the shot. The figure kneed me in the chest, winding me slightly and making me drop both of my pistols. Pushing the creature off me I pulled my sharpened knife and ran at him/her.The creature was covered head to toe in black leather armor and wore a dark hood that obscured the wearers face. The assailant went to grab my weapon but I jumped back at the last second and ran in to punch the figure in the face. My fist connected with a loud crack as I broke his/her's nose, blood dripping onto its armor. Now pissed the attacker ran at me and in a split second scratched my chest, cutting into the armor slightly and drawing blood and cut my wrist on my knife hand. As I dropped my knife and cursed loudly I tried to headbutt the attack but was surprised to find the mysterious figure had left. Turning around I saw the figure and all the guards had surrounded me, weapons drawn. Realizing there was no way out I raised my arms in defeat. "I su-" I was going to tell them I give up but one of the guards decided to whack me in the back of my head with the butt of his gun, knocking me out. As I feel to the ground the last thought I thought before I hit the snow was how the hell did everything go so wrong. Vectis As I ran down the mountain trail, looking over my shoulder occasionally, I knew today was perhaps one of the worst i've had. It started pretty easy with a few cuts and bruises from climbing down the mountain, then a few hours spent walking down a mountain path and now- "RR aaaaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHH!" Screamed the monster chasing me, interrupting my train of thought. Before I could run further down the path a storm of fire rained down on the path in front of me. Thinking fast, I dived to the right and hide behind a rock and waited for it to pass. Instead I heard a thud and another roar. I took a peak off the top of my cover to get a good look at the beast that had been following me. It was giant, as big as a Chassis and twice as wide. It had long leathery wings and hard, rock-like royal blue scales. It had pale blue eyes and clean white teeth that were razor sharp and a spiked, club of a tail. If the appearance didn't already confirm that this was a dragon then the fire breathing confirmed it was a MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON. Calming my nerves, I took stock on what I had on me: One M1911 Pistol, ten spare magazines, One Anaconda revolver, ten spare magazines, Armored dress uniform, damaged, two knifes, pristine, Rations, a frag grenade, two flares and a flash bang grenade. Thinking quickly I pulled the pin from the flash bang grenade and threw it over the rock. The dragon stared at it, confused that I would throw a shiny rock, and then screeched in pain as it was blinded. Now that I had an advantage I ran out of cover and shoot at the over sized lizard but was annoyed to find its scales where too strong for the bullets to penetrate, through the plasma left a few scorch marks on its hide. The blue dragon, getting agitated at the slight pain, swiped one of its front claws at me. as the claws neared my head I went to the ground and slid under the bony, yet sharp, appendages. Running under the beast I looked up and saw its fleshy underbelly that glowed orange from the fire within. Switching on auto fire, I emptied the guns magazines and was satisfied to see blood pour from the bullet wounds. The dragon in response stood up on its back legs and prepared to breath fire on me. At the last second I rolled the the left back behind a few rocks to the side of the dragon. After the dragon stopped breathing hell fire I reloaded my gun and got ready for the next round. The monsters eye sight was slowly returning and he had enough sight to swing its tail at me. Jumping over it I landed on the other side of the tail and rolled under the blue behemoth. I tried to grab onto the dragons hide but the gap between the scales where to small for my talons to fit through, but a knife just might. Giving up, I dropped back down onto the ground beneath the dragon. Thinking ahead, the monster tried to breath fire on me again, so I turned around, holstered my pistols and pulled out my knifes, jumped up to the base of the tail and stabbed the knifes into the fleshy exposed patches that was covered by scales. Now that I had a decent grip on the bastard I began climbing the dragons back, taking my time to stick the knife between the blue, shiny scales. The dragon began vigorously shacking to try and knock me off either off the side of the cliff or into the jagged rocks to my side. Despite the obstacles I continued heading towards the head of the beast. After a minute of scaling and shaking I had reached the back of the beast, between the two wings of the dragon. As it turns out the dragon had a new idea as he lifted into the air and dived off the cliff face. Holding on for dear life I diged the blade deep into the dragons tissue and desperately tried to dig my feets talons into the creatures back. Combined the pain caused the dragon to scream and shake violently. Feeling brave, I let go off my left hand and reached to my M1911 and pulled it out. Slowly, I moved the gun and aimed it at the creature's left wing. Tightening my grip and switching to single shot I shoot a hole straight through the creatures wing membrane. The dragon reacted instantly and shock uncontrollably, launching me off its back and towards its head. Looking forward I saw we were nearing the bottom of the cliff towards a lake, deep of the dark blue shade of the water was any indication. I desperately tried to grab one of the dragons horns and thankfully got a grip on one near the beasts right eye. Placing my feet firmly on the drakes nose ridge and raised my gun. The beast barely had time to react as my bullets tore straight through the eye and into the soft tissue of the brain within. With a final act of aggression it flung me off its head towards the lake below. We both hit the water hard, if it weren't for my reinforced scales I would have died on impact, still hurt like a bitch. After sinking about twenty feet I began swimming back to the surface. I below me and saw the dead giant sink to the bottom of the lake. The body was soon swallowed by the lakes dark, murky waters. I felt a tad bit upset that I had to kill something so beautiful and majestic, deadly, but majestic. Truly it was a creature of worthy merit and a strong fighter. It would take a few hours for the adrenaline of the fight to wear off but I was feeling wired as hell. As I breached the water I did a full circle to inspect the ground. In stark contrast the the grey crags and jagged mountains the ground was lush and beautiful. Trees, full of life and multicolored birds stretched on for miles along with the orange colored bushes. The forest radiated a sense of life and wonder as the sounds of beautiful creatures and terrifying predators echoed from deep within. Looking up I saw it would soon be night and the forest sensed this too, as more than a few luminescent plants light up in the dark shadows of the tree line. With no direction to head in, I checked my supplies, made sure there was no water damage and headed into the woods, sure that nothing within could match the sheer power of the sunken dragon.