ToGL2

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==Tales from the Golden Lion AUKatya’s Quest - Chapter 2==
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11/24/3052 - Antares, Contested World
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Westmacott Plains looked placid from here, the Star Adders had arrived during Antares’ autumn. within her rangefinder the woods concealing their enemy had turned scarlet and brown. Her fur lined gray field jacket and woolen watch cap rippled in the wind.
Beneath her a man stood on the ramparts, “See anything interesting, Star Captain Kerensky?”
“Neg, Kyros. Just moldering wheat.”
“Pity, going to be lean times for the people of Antares. Poor luck that we arrived when we did.”
“Sounds like a problem for the Merchants.”
“Problems for Merchants have a way of causing them for the Warrior caste.”
“Well then their freeborn offspring in the Patrol will settle it, one way or another.”
Katya descended the wall only to be replaced by a squad of red shirted Adder Sentinels dialing in range markers. He produced an armor panel shattered after being hit by a Gauss SMG round. The iridescent green panel shed light making its form indistinct. A small shadow appeared beneath the object. “At least it still casts a shadow and is not completely invisible.” 
Kyros polished the panel with a handkerchief, “Must be a pain to maintain. I suppose for an army with many techs it might be manageable, but not for us.”
She leaned against the corrugated metal revetment that backed the rampart, “Can you determine how to defeat it, Watch Officer.”
“Paint balls.” He chuckled, “The coating needs to be perfect for the camouflage effect to work. 
It can only change its color, not anything on it. I suppose this is why they limit it to night attacks and commando raids. Regular electromagnetic sneak suits work better to defeat our sensors in daylight, and COMSTAR seems to have many of them. 
Reports from the affected units confirm that the camouflaged units were not carrying any weapons before they attacked using blades and garottes.”
Her pistol came into her hand from her belt, a chromed steel 10mm. “Does this look like a paint ball gun, Watch Officer?”
“Neg, Star Captain.”
His canvas bag opened to reveal a set of air pistols, the same given to crechies to test their firearms handling and for training purposes. “Do you want neon blue or bright orange?”
Icy blue eyes stared him down, “Blue.”
“I figured as much. You can practice Akimbo gun fighting battle armor at close range.”
“I shall leave that to the Watch’s propaganda department.”
“We train many skills, technical and martial, ambidexterity among them. You would be surprised at what we are capable of.”
He lingered holding onto the air pistol longer than would be considered appropriate. Katya stuffed it into one of her cargo pockets as he did the same with his armor shard, leaving the top of his messenger bag open. “Would you like to practice?”
“I will do so on my own.” They walked away from the observation post, past patrolling Sentinels, “I only wish to find the Two-Twenty-Second’s Headquarters so I can drop on it, kill them, and get off this rock.”
“Same, they seem to have a large cache of equipment on world based on their stickiness. I wonder if they brought a mobile HPG with them to report back.”
His fingers rested on a firm jaw then through short brown hair, “Are we their lab rats? I am not sure where I am honored or insulted.”
“Has the Watch detected any HPG emissions?”
“Neg, but our recon assets cannot be everywhere. Otherwise, we would have found them by now. Marcos wants to march around and draw them out.”
Katya paused at the overly familiar address of their Star Colonel, particularly the lack of mention to his blood name. “The Star Colonel is only inviting more ambushes with our present force posture and I have spoken to him about it.”
They looked toward the Mobile Long Toms presently having the damage dealt to the barrels during the raid two days ago. Kyros passed a folder to her from his pack, “The COMGuards intend to strand us for as long as necessary. Their behavior is one of a fixing force, to dangerous to leave but resource intensive to put down.”
She opened the folder parsing through INTELSTAR briefings addressed to the Star Colonel. Multiple incidents of sabotage and assassination by COMSTAR affiliates were requiring a slower, more manpower intensive occupation than predicted. 
“I should not have these. It is a breach of security protocol.”
“He does not read them. 
I am the security officer and as such I pulled them from the shredding bin. You should know.”
“Why?”
“Do not be coy with me Katya Kerensky. I am trained in observation and psychology. 
I am good at it too. I know you wish to challenge the Star Colonel for command of the Thirty-Seventh. 
I merely wish to aid you in getting me off this rock as well. Think of how much Glory you will gain by handling these COMGuards where Marcos could not.” 
His hand touched the pens stuffed into the loops on his upper arm, “At least you are someone that will read my reports. I do not write them for my own amusement.”
“Are you certain? I have read some that are suspect.”
“Those were intercepts that I quoted verbatim.” He left her as he sat down and started up his motorcycle. “We will talk again, Katya Kerensky. You can count on it.” 
His helmet went on, visor down, then he sped out of the gate toward Antares City throwing back a clump of gravel in the process.
Katya looked down at the folder, paused then folded it into her jacket, “Stavag Watch Officers.”
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