WCGW Chpt 136

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==Chapter 136 - What Could Go Wrong==
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3rd July 3043
Thazi (Former Outworlds System)
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With the former SLDF base secured along with the grounded Dropships, Colonel David Mitchell had toured the reversed mirror image of the Wokha base and that was the only resemblance. The interior was a shambles. This was partly due from the fighting, but mainly it was worse than a Combine penal colony in his opinion. From his eye's, over half the Mech bays were inoperable and probably unsalvageable. Those that looked like they had recently been used looked like patchwork affairs. He had glanced inside the room where the base computer was housed, and it looked as though half of it was physically yanked apart. He doubted Davis could save it.
The base power plant was completely gone and in its place was a legless and armless Battlemech with power cables exiting its torso where the limbs normally would be and connecting to the base wiring, some of it anyway, it was hard to tell because it looked like spaghetti to him. It was basically just a shell.
The only bright spot were the captured Dropships, he had found these to actually be in decent shape, clean at least and everything looked functional. Thought the armor on all of them had taken a beating during the fighting and one Union Dropship had a crumpled landing leg. He smiled as Colonel Bradley Andrews, commander Arcadians, walked up from the Dropships.
"Well, even if they keep the two Overlords Dropships from Wokha, you at least have one Overlord and three Unions right here that they cannot take from you." Colonel Mitchell said
"Your fly boys beat the crap out of them, but it will just take some yard time to get it all fixed up." Colonel Andrews replied
"Between what you got on Wokha and here you might even be able to add another Battalion." Colonel Mitchell said
"I doubt it. I am sure the board is going to want to sell all the salvage off and use the money for newer machines. That will be my recommendation anyway." Colonel Andrews replied
"Either way, we will help you get everything back to Wokha. That is your main posting anyway. Both of those Mules are loaded with food, we will be transporting those back to Wokha and then back here for another load. Plus, we will be bringing back more of my people. We have more work to do here, and I need the extra bodies." Colonel Mitchell said
"What are your exact plans?" Colonel Andrews asked
Colonel Mitchell reached into his pocket and pulled out two apples, handed one over to Colonel Andrews and took a bite from his own. "You ever tasted an apple that good? Damned if I have ever tasted one that good."
After taking his bite, Colonel Andrews said "Damn, that is good and juicy. Where did you get these?"
"Pulled them off a tree not far from here this morning. It's beautiful here, temperature is almost perfect. Hell, we might call this place home." Colonel Mitchell said
"Just going to take over the entire planet?" Colonel Andrews asked
"Just home. I think running a planet is way outside my level of experience. The people can vote what they want to do with the place. But it makes for a nice forward base to stage from and return to." Colonel Mitchell said
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6 July 3043
Colonel Andrews and the Arcadians boosted for the jump point, with ferry crews provided by Colonel Mitchell piloting most of the captured Dropships, the three Union Dropships would have to wait for another ride. With them now gone, Colonel Mitchell looked at Captain Harold Croyle and First Lieutenant Nathan Davis. "Shall we take a little trip and see what else we can find?"
In the skies above the planet, the Intrusive, SaRI's Intruder Assault Dropship and one of their Seeker Dropships made the orbital trip 800km in no time, grounding close to where the small base was supposed to be. First Lieutenant Davis compared the ground to the old SLDF map and said, "That hill is not on the map at all."
"That makes it worth checking out then. Captain Croyle, let's find out what that hill is hiding." Colonel Mitchell said
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8 July 3043
They all stood staring at the Dropship laying on its side. No one could identify it and it was beat to hell. They did not have enough power cable to run from their grounded Dropships to the uncovered Dropship. "It is not going anywhere, and I am not sure it is worth shifting one of our Dropships closer. We will leave that for Chief Zuniga. Let's go find that base." 
Captain Harold Croyle and his engineers were getting better at locating the little things the SLDF did when building their base. Plus, the use of ground penetrating radar, though time consuming to use by just pushing the things around manually, made the work much more accurate. "There it is, that would be the ramp. Good solid return. Looks about 20 meters down. Time to dig."
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9 July 3043
They had made quick work of excavating the door to the SLDF base, but had waited until daylight to actually attempt to open the base door. That particular task still took over three hours to locate the tiny slot so that First Lieutenant Nathan Davis could insert his security "key". The tiny green light and the dull THUMP was almost familiar and no longer shocking to the gathered people. But still, they took no chance and Colonel Mitchell checked on the lance of Battlemechs patrolling the immediate area as the massive door opened.
Entering on foot, they found a scene much like that on Wokha, but on a smaller scale. Colonel Mitchell repeated what they had done on Wokha, ordering everyone out of the base until all the remains could be properly removed and buried. But he and First Lieutenant Davis did a quick tour of the base itself. "Looks like a company each of Mongoose, Talon, and Crab BattleMechs. Battalion of wheel armor, not sure of the type. Enough APCs to carry a Battalion. Support vehicles look about right to support what is here."
"It gives us a feel for what is down here. There are not as many of us, so we have a lot of work to do before we can proceed further. So, let's go lend a hand." Colonel Mitchell said
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