Chapter Eight

Helm System

Free Worlds League

October 24th, 3024

Master Tech John Baltic, Technician Roger Wood, Mastiff and I are on board a landing craft piloted by Commander Metcalf. We are flying in tight formation with another of our landing craft piloted by Captain Martinez. We are on our way down to Helm where we hope to separate so that my landing craft can slip unnoticed to land at the Engineering building east of the Nagayan Mountains. Captain Martinez and those with her will continue to the spaceport at Helmdown and purchase supplies as normal. I hope to be able to access the cache with the SLDF identity chip provided by my father. Those with me and Captain Martinez have been informed I am looking for another cache. I can't do this on my own and felt that certain senior personnel needed to know, Technician Wood is here for his computer skills.

Five days later and Commander Metcalf has landed us safely in the desired area. Disembarking, Mastiff and I do a quick recon on foot to see if we have attracted any obvious attention. So far it looks as if we arrived undetected, With the condition of Helm's radars and other sensors it is unlikely we were detected except visually. With the sparse population and being several hundred kilometers from Helmdown means we should be ok. Now to continue the lies I must tell, even to my own people to cover for my knowledge.

"Attention people, we need to head over to that building and get inside to see if my father's information is correct."

Before starting this quest, I informed them that my father found information in our cache that lead us here and that he destroyed the information after showing it to me. We circled around the building until we found a door. Trying the handle and finding it unlocked I push it open with surprising ease for something this old. The Star League sure knew how to build stuff to last. Entering the building with the others following I find my self in what would most likely be a construction office with an attached storage area for equipment at the rear.

The building is empty if you don't count all the dust and the island in the center of the office area. This seems to match my recollections of the novel. I make my way to the island and look for a switch or data port. We all start coughing due to the dust we have stirred up and can see floating around us in the sunlight streaming in through the window. Finding a data port designed to fit the SLDF ID chip I clear the dust from the island's top with my sleeve before inserting my chip with the hacking device attached.

Several minutes pass with nothing happening and I start to worry this won't work. Then a hum starts to come from the island before the top lights up to display the following.

Welcome Major General Charles Lemarque, to Star League Field Library Facility, Helm, DE890-2699.

#

Seeing that it is waiting for a command and displaying what appears to be a keyboard, I motion to Wood to take over. Wood looks like he is about to have an orgasm at thought of working with the computer. Working together as a team to advise Wood we manage to get a layout of the facility including the entrances be they man sized or mech sized and disable the security system in case it is still functional. Locating the closest man door on the map Wood enters the command to unseal it. Suddenly a warning message appears.

Warning facility coming on line from CBRN lockdown, unsafe to enter!!!

01:24:43

It looks like we have some waiting to do which does not surprise me considering the place has been locked up for over two hundred years. The atmosphere inside is probably dangerously stale.

According to the map this facility is huge Extending all the way from the destroyed city of Freeport 100 km to the east and all the way to the west side of the Nagayan Mountains. Most of that distance is tunnels to various access points but still that is a lot of real-estate. The main facility is located under the mountain range and will take a lot of manpower for a complete search in a reasonable time frame. We however only have three days until we have to form up with the other landing craft when it returns to the jump point. I did not want to attract undue attention to ourselves so instructed Captain Martinize to take some of our crew for R&R while on the supply run. Three days seemed reasonable to collect what intelligence is available about the current situation on planet. Once back aboard the Ferryman we can decide how to proceed.

An hour and a half later we arrive at the location of the door. Damn the camouflage is incredible, if the door wasn't cracked open before we got here, we never would have found it. Cautiously I enter the doorway and look around as the lights slowly come on after flicking the switch. Okay this looks just like it was described in the novel. Once the others have entered, I close and seal the door using the controls. We then all head to the only thing of interest in this cavernous room, the same type of building as we used outside.

The inside of this building is different as one wall has 'Star League Field Library Facility, Helm, DE890-2699' chiseled into it. The opposite wall is covered in a large screen with a console and chair in front of it. Once again, we put Wood to work after I insert the chip and sacrifice some blood.

I request Wood search for the last report filed by the commanding officer of this facility. He brings up a report from Major Edwin Keeler detailing the arrival of Minoru Kurita's fleet and his demands to turn over the SLDF equipment, to which he refused. It goes on to detail the Kuritan forces search of Freeport and the subsequent orbital nuclear bombardment of the city. His last recorded words were his plan to wait in the facility until it was safe to exit and assist with search and rescue efforts.

I then had Wood bring up the previous records in reverse chronological order to allow us to learn more about the facility. The rest of the day was spent gathering information about the facility and its contents, then making a plan for the morning.

According to the inventory there is more than a division's worth of equipment and spares housed here. Far more that we can take with us which leaves us in a dilemma. Do we take what we can carry and probably be seen doing so or leave and return with an expedition arranged with a patron. We currently only have 7000 tons of free cargo space and there is over 100,000 tons of equipment in inventory let alone what can be stripped from the facility.

The following morning after spending the night in sleeping bags on the hard floor we eat breakfast before heading to our first search location of the day. It takes a little while but we find the correct storage area and the blank memory cores so that Wood can make copies of the Library. Sending Wood back with the cores and orders to make properly indexed copies, we continue to the equipment storage areas to confirm what we can of the inventory list.

Arriving at our first survey location leaves us in awe. Rank upon rank of what appear to be standard Star League mechs grouped as companies of the same unit secured in gantries. They appear in pristine condition and have been properly stored. We each choose an aisle to walk down and check what is here.

Returning to the entrance I join the others and discuss our findings. It appears there are 12 of each mech to see regular service with the Star League from TRO2750 and TRO3025 here. With the conference complete we continue to the next location. Entering this warehouse leaves us stunned as we find Late Star League era mechs that the others do not recognize as wells as royal refits of standard mechs, all in company sized lots.

The walk through takes longer this time as I keep having to confirm the identity of the mechs. I recognize them as listed in TRO3058 and TRO3075. Reaching the rear of the warehouse we find a secured mech sized door leading to another section. We will have to return with my ID chip to see if we can open the door.

We continue on to the rest of the warehouses to find combat vehicles and VTOLs stored in battalion sized groups for regular types and company sized lots for royal refits. While the aerospace fighters were in wings for regular types and squadrons for royal refits.

Having run out of time for today we return to check on Wood. I hope Wood is as good as he thinks he is because the library core is my ace in the hole. It has taken him all day but he believes he has successfully created a fully indexed copy of the library by spanning it across several cores. We won't know for sure if he succeeded until he can test it using the Ferryman's computer.

The next morning Wood joins us as I need the ID chip to try to open that door.

Arriving at the door I insert the chip and let the vampire device have its way with me. We're in luck as it works, opening the door reveals a treasure. "This must be an area reserved for special ops equipment". I say as the others follow me inside.

"Those are Nighthawk power armor suits and I am guessing the mechs are Specter and Exterminator specials." Wow a battalion of night hawks and lance each of what I hope are the Chameleon and NullSig equipped Specters and Exterminators. It seems that the specialized equipment needed to service and repair the equipment is also here.

After spending some time drooling, we move on to the next warehouse to find a fuck ton amount of spare parts and supplies. We skip the ammunition storage bunker as we are all concerned over the stability of any two-hundred-year-old ordinance.

The final warehouse is filled with Star League personal gear for all services. Great at least we can bring back something other than the core to show for our trip. Noticing a stack of duffle bags, I order everyone to grab one or two and go grab some kit for themselves and anyone else they would like if they can carry it. I rub my hands in glee at the prospect of a proper neurohelmet and cooling suit. I can see the others are just as ecstatic as I am with the gear.

Returning to the library Wood starts on another copy as he thinks he can finish one before we have to leave now that he has done it once before. Wood finishes just in time as we rush outside to the other building to use the computer to lock down the facility and re-engage the security system.

Returning to the landing craft we secure the gear and memory cores while Commander Metcalf performs his preflight checks. When the time comes, we lift off and join formation with Captain Martinez on our way to the Ferryman. During the trip we discuss our adventure and I get their agreement to keep what they saw secret until I say otherwise.

They will be allowed to use the gear we recovered as long as they claim I found it amongst the cargo of the Vault and provided it to them. If anyone asks the story will be that we spent some time camping as our R&R.

Back aboard the Ferryman I learn from Captain Martinez that the Mercenary company is still on planet and their leader has denied any request for further Groundings for our people. This means I can't risk trying to return to the cache at this time. The good news is Wood has confirmed the viability of the copies which are now secured in two separate safes one on the ferryman and the other in my quarters. With that settled I inform everyone that we are bound for Galatea to recruit more personnel and provide every one a chance for some R&R planet side.