Lodestone TLR-99

Playing horsey

The Colonel made his presence known to Ops before he'd even opened the door. His voice, however muffled it was by the soundproofing and the double-layered gas-tight porthole window, sounded angry enough that even the biggest slacker on the Ops team was prepared to leap out of their seat and stand at attention, just to avoid stepping on toes. When the door finally opened, at least three crewmen shouted "TEN HUT!" in unison.

"Sit your asses down." Colonel Howell ap Nestor was not in the mood for protocol today. He pointed at the commander on duty, his face stuck in the grumpiest expression possible. "Captain Zelenko, I want you to tell me again what you just told me on the phone. I want everybody to hear this."

Alyona Zelenko, captain of the Southern Army's 92nd Operational Support Crew, shut her eyes tight and drew in a deep breath. "The Lodestone has been spotted, sir."

"You're sure it's our Lodestone?"

"I told you on the phone, sir. It has our fairings. The head's been replaced, and there's been some modifications, but it's all consistent with the damage reports from Operation H40."

"Bring up the drone feed. Main screen."

Zelenko gestured to the resident slacker, who was already sweating nervously. They tapped a few buttons and fed their screen to the projector. On screen now was a feed of...what looked like a windblown desert ruin. Among the metal girder columns and cracked cement foundations was the sensation of movement, like an ant farm from that distance, lots of little things moving in circles, up and down, hopping on and off of the various surfaces. In the middle was a shape that looked distinctly bipedal, off-white, and towered over most of the columns.

"Bring us in closer, Reservist," the Colonel ordered.

The feed tracked inwards, towards the large biped. Despite the off-white dusting of sand, the Southern Army's insignia - the four stars of Crux over a blue nebula shape - was clear to be seen on its chest. And now, so were the shapes of what was climbing over it.

"It's... surrounded, sir," spoke the timid Reservist. "They're not firing on it, but it's operational. I can't tell what's going on."

Captain Zelenko spoke next. "Colonel, I've been checking the connections from our virtual cockpit for weeks in hopes that the Lodestone was still putting out a signal. Nothing. However they got her running, sir, they must have fully severed all of the remote connections themselves."

"I want to know who they are. Reservist, get us closer," ap Nestor ordered again.

By now the drone camera was within a couple hundred meters of the site. Its zoom lens was pushed to its limit, but it was now close enough to make out the colors of everybody's clothes. They were not military uniforms, or the colors of any known groups of gangs, terrorists, collaborators, or mercenaries. They were random, unmatched. They held nothing in their hands and wore no equipment. "I think they're children, Colonel," the Reservist said.

Colonel ap Nestor seemed even more furious at the thought of it all. "Gods be damned... Lodestone is not playground equipment! What the hell are these kids doing? It could slaughter them all in one movement!" He slammed an open palm against the nearest flat surface. "Zelenko, we need the emergency uplink online so we can stop this thing! They don't know what they're doing with it!"

"Uh..." The timid Reservist flew the drone just a little bit closer, now just shy of 100 meters. "Colonel? Captain? Look..."

Lodestone's chest compartment opened. A familiar-looking, dirty-blonde, tan-skinned, five-foot-two gremlin of a woman looked directly at the drone, and waved.

ap Nestor's tune had changed. "Why on the Pantheon's great brown planet is she still alive?"

On the camera feed, the short woman took the hand of one of the children and lifted him into the cockpit. He was clearly excited to be up there. Zelenko said nothing and struggled to keep her facial expression neutral. Somewhere, under the hood, she was happy. She'd known that Second Lieutenant Niemeyer had vanished of her own volition, and that Tech Sergeant Sherazi had likely gone with her. Operation H40 had taken a toll on morale all across the 1st MRD. Here, now, Zelenko bore witness that not only were the two of them still alive, but that better things were possible for them. They had something worth fighting for, and damn it all, they already had the best tools for protecting it.

"Did you know about this, Captain Zelenko?" Colonel ap Nestor's voice had lowered somewhat. One couldn't tell from his face, but the Colonel was shifting down. He was letting off the gas.

It was worth tipping her hand, now. "...Yes, sir." She fought the urge to cry. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Just talk, Captain. It'll help."

Zelenko watched for several quiet seconds as the great off-white destroyer allowed two more children to ride in its hands and stood up tall. Several of the children were waving at the drone camera too, jumping up and down on the cracked bits of cement foundation and the bent steel girders embedded in the sands. "Lodestone is exactly where she needs to be, sir," she said.