Chapter 34: Front 18 – A.M.I – Part 1/2

The Nemo squadron acted fast to heed Sabban's warning, spreading out in three different directions while Una's mech fell back into the safety of the tunnel covering their entry route.

With some swift instructions from Kolme, the exposed trio rapidly advanced - Sabban hugging the furthest wall of the port, while Kolme & Hoki made their way through the maze of small buildings that made up the bizarre ad-hoc village, their mechs towering over the low rise structures like giants.

 Before long all three mechs broke from cover, each only feet away from the far back corner of the room where Sabban had spotted the unknown machine. All three Neo's bravely rose their weapons and shone their frontal torches.

It had been no mistake, shrouded in the darkness of the massive room's back corner was a Vijaik - A chunky, heavy-set machine. With spiked shoulders and a single monocular eyed helmet - The reality of the situation, of the strange village, the abandoned station's seemingly high level of repair and the mech now before him - How it all related to Scarlet became troublingly clear to Kolme in that moment

 "Stand down everyone, It sure ain't live."
Kolme said after a little hesitation.

Sabban audibly scoffed at this, while Hoki seemed to breath a sigh of relief.

 Upon closer inspection to their newly discovered Vijaik, its level of disrepair became increasingly clear - Where its single eye should of reflected back a red shade, instead it was an empty socket - Parts of armour plating had also been removed here and there, with even some cabling having been torn out - A 'donor mech' of sorts it seemed, possibly used to repair other, newer models.

 The squad risked no more surprises of this sort, quickly spreading out to check each corner of the room before reconvening back at the tunnel entrance - A short ways from what filled the centre of the room, the bizarre ghost town of prefabricated houses and sheds.

"What now Kolme?" Sabban half-growled.

Hoki was quick to answer, "We should check atleast a few of those building, it's possibly there's still people here."

"W-Wouldn't they of heard us stomping around....maybe?" Una added.

Kolme placed a hand to his chin considerately while listening to his subordinates over their respective radios; 
 "Rookie's probably right 'bout that, but still we can't completely ignore this - There's no mention of it on any of the data IAFS 'as on Station 9. Hoki you stay in ye're mech, keep it patched to mine - Anything moves inside the station and you call us all back a'right?"
 Hoki somewhat reluctantly agreed, clearly wanting to explore the town rather then stand on guard duty.

"Sab, Rookie, you're with me - Put ye're 'elments on and lets see what we've got here --"

'"Station 9, thee station 9.3? Kolme Nilas you listen to me right now, leave it alone. Anything you see there, leave it. Don't bring anything back, don't take pictures, nothing. I mean it Nilas!'"
 A chill ran down Kolme's spine as he remembered Scarlets warning - "-- Ah, and no one record any 'o this..."

"You what?" Sabban exclaimed in confusion at Kolme's bizarre order, "What about protocol, you can't just not tell the bridge about this."

"And we will tell 'em, in our after-reports - But if we do it now they'll want to send in a research team or some other crap - You fancy baby-sittin' today Sab-lad?" Kolme shot back.

Sabban didn't bother replying and with no further complaints the trio disembarked the mechs, equipped with the light weight space suits of all pilots - Which would give them a few hours air in the eventually that the Station's own supply wasn't breathable or compromised in some fashion.

****

Kolme walked in his usual elongated shuffle, along the barren 'streets' of the town. Now out of his mech it really did seem like he was walking around a real settlement.
 There were plastic bins at the edges of 'houses', presumably left out for a collection that would never come - Lampposts next to curbs, both clearly meant to mark the border between road and footpath.
 Of course there was still the immersion breaking grey floors or the fact that all the buildings were - Artificial.
Obviously all homes are 'built' but for Kolme it was strange the way, whomever had established all this, had opted for purely un-homely materials. Many houses were little more than metal cabins with small windows and raised off the ground on steel struts or wooden frames.
 Other buildings were the generic green-glossy shine of moulded fibre glass structures and finally all the large warehouses, many as they were, had all clearly been pre-constructed somewhere and simply re-assembled like flatpack for the purposes of this 'town'.

'Almost like one of those factory town's back West on Bhaile, were companies make their own villages around their car or chocolate or whatever making facilities, to make things more efficient...'

"Hoki how are things lookin' on your end?" Kolme asked, cutting off his own musings.

"Fine Lieutenant, far as I can tell nothing has moved inside the station since we arrived - The submarine must just be sitting inside somewhere. Our ships are also still holding their positions outside. There is one strange thing..."

"Go on?"

"The outer wall of this room we're in sir, it was broken. I don't mean how we cut in, I mean a part of it was blown clean open, massive explosion at a guess - It was only filled in with temporary measures too, this entire port is actually pretty unstable." Hoki finished.

Once more Kolme felt a cold chill as more pieces clicked together in his mind;
 "Alright lass, good work. Let me know if ya' find anything else. Sab, Rookie, you read me?"

"Y-yes Sir!" Una replied, with an accompanying grunt of affirmation from Sabban.

"Found anything yet?" Kolme asked.

"Not really... Sir, err a few papers but they don't really make any sense..."

"Same here, this is a bust Kolme." Sabban added drolly.

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"Keeping checking you two, we'll convene on that big structure in the centre of town - Compare notes and then get the feck outt'a here, I don't like the 'feel' a' this place."
 As stated Kolme continued to make his way down side streets, poking his head into each house for a quick look - Little if any building seemed to care much for locking doors, making it easy to explore. The individual buildings all had personality and yet perplexingly little information could be gleaned.
 In some Kolme would come across rooms of drawing boards, and desks that were clearly wired for computers or other technical equipment - But while alot of the furnishings remained, the actual machines were gone - With any scraps of paper being found, seemingly having nothing to really say.
 Reams of arbitrary figures with no context, mundane-memos about work place etiquette and such like, but no straight forward clues as to the strange town's purpose.

He rounded an alleyway corner on to the broadest of all the streets, easily wide enough for 4 or five lanes of traffic. Further the buildings along this one were a little more established, granted still with no bricks or mortar in sight but with the cabins stacked to create larger interlinking structures.
 At the end of this longest street was the building Kolme had mentioned before, the largest of all - A massive 5 or so stories high warehouse of solid metal.
 As he rounded the corner Kolme nearly screamed aloud when he spotted the ghostly white shape of another human being.

"What's wrong old man, just me, no ghouls here." Sabban grinned, walking up to the older pilot.

"Heh, ya." Kolme grumbled.

Sabban glanced around himself, taking in the view of this strange, large main-street - "Guess it is a bit of a ghost town though."

"You can say that again lad. We should get a move on, you want to take the left side of da' street while I go right?"  Kolme added, trying to get things back on track.

As he began walking away, not waiting for a response - Kolme found himself grabbed by the shoulder, he turned to face Sabban; "You alright lad?"

Even through the visor of his space suit, Sabban's face was clearly as emotionless as always, his tone as dry;
 "I wonder Kolme, if Scarlet were here she'd be arguing with you over every little decision ya?"

"I guess so? She usually tends to." Kolme said back.

"Maybe that's a good thing. She's reckless but I wonder if you're too cautious. I can appreciate that about you. But maybe too much caution is just as dangerous as being too reckless? Is your caution going to get me killed Nilas?"

Kolme brushed Sabban's hand away from his shoulder and properly turned to face his young friend;
 "If you've got something to say lad, then go ahead and say it why don't ya--"
Kolme's tounge caught in his mouth, his throat felt dry. The stale air around them seems to freeze icy cold - 'Those Eyes....'
 They were Sabban's eyes, those blood-shot sleepless eyes - But in that moment they stared with a dangerous intent, an intent he had seen in others before - The sort that gets people killed.

"Tch, don't fuck this up Kolme, alright? I ain't looking to get myself killed for the sake of your 'caution'"
 Sabban finished when it became clear Kolme had lost his train of thought, before turning slowly and making his way to a building on the left side of the street, just as Kolme had instructed.

Nilas simply stood staring after the boy. He'd had longer arguments, if you could call it that - Heck longer chats with misbehaving pets - And yet in that moment Sabban's eyes more then anything, held him firmly in place as though rooted to the ground.

'This place, these weird bloody building, that abandoned mech... More and more headaches we really don't need... This was only meant to be a quick scouting trip, not a damn treasure hunt....'

****

After a few more minutes of exploration, the trio rendezvoused in-front of the central building. Up close it was clear the behemoth shed was made from a collection of metal pillars, corrugated iron and any other easily come by but still sturdy materials - There was a rather ominous lack of any windows lining the place.
 Sabban entered first, making quick professional sweeps of each room with weapon in hand - While Kolme and Una made slower progress behind him.
 Kolme glanced down at the quiet young woman by his side. In her full ski-tight space suit it was hard to read her body language but even so, Kolme could still tell her hand, rested on the hilt of her firearm - Was trembling.
 He of course had been the one who had told Una and Sabban to bring with them the lightweight SMG's kept in most Vijaik cockpits for emergencies. Una's palms seemed to tremble restlessly against the sleek black body of the small weapon.

"You alright lass? That thing got ya worried?" Kolme asked, nodding in the guns direction.

Una glanced from it, back to Kolme with a wary, crooked smile; "What? Oh no, it's ok sir. I'm fine..."
 Kolme frowned, reaching his hand out to pat her reassuringly on the shoulder - However as he made contact with her he realised it wasn't only her hands that were shaking, no her whole body appeared to be trembling.
 Seeing this Kolme stopped in his tracks - Himself and Una were now in some sort of entrance lobby, while Sabban had advanced further into the building.

The room was fairly small, with a countertop and a few chairs - Giving it a look more of being for speical rare guests, rather then regular visitors.
 "Una you can talk ta' me, I won't be mad ya' know." Kolme said softly.

The Rookie simply smiled again while shaking her head - "I-I'm fine really. Ummm what about you, that gun looks different..."

Temporarily distracted, Kolme glanced down at the object Una had called out - Rather then an automatic weapon, Kolme wore at his hip an old pistol of some kind. A heavy looking object, that seemed likely to have more stopping power but less accuracy then the average service sidearm.
 He laughed awkwardly, "Ah this? No it isn't IAFS issue, tis my own."

"O-oh like from the last war?"
 Kolme averted his eyes from Una's, her face having taken on the eager attentiveness of youth;
 "No, not really - Been around a long time I guess. Don't know why but I trust it more than more modern stuff, silly really - Just superstition."

Una smiled a little more confidently as she responded - "I think... i think that makes sense..."
 Kolme did his best to return the smile and lay his hand on her shoulder again, griping it soothingly;
 "So what up eh? If not the gun, maybe you're still a bit 'shook from the last fight? No shame in it."

Una shuffled around as she worked up to an answer, "It's just... I haven't been to one since then... A Nation-State I mean, not since my home was gassed...."

Kolme nearly had to bite his tounge not to curse aloud:
 'You stupid, stupid old man! Of course that'd affect her, the hell was I thinking dragging her in here without even talking to her about it first? Heck maybe that's why Sabban's so edgy to boot. You stupid, stupid, stupid, Stupid idiot Nilas! Damn it all!'

Before Kolme could actually reply to Una, Sabban's voice called out to them from a doorway behind the countertop - "Oi Kolme, you should see this... It's weird..."
 Una made the first move, striding towards Sabban's voice;
 "We better get going... um sir. Don't worry I'm fine, really - I won't let you down for sure!" She said in a barely audible tone of false confidence.

Kolme had no choice but to follow the two troublesome youths into what lay before them.

****

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