The Styx Strikers

by Thor Zollinger

  The Colonel’s mouth was open as he pondered what he’d just been told, then he smiled. “You mean to tell me those nasty @#%^$ pirates got beat up by a bunch of kids?” he said laughing. “Well if that don’t beat all! Where’d you guys learn to pilot mechs like that?”

  “We have a Mechwarrior ™ simulator in the house downstairs, we’ve waged battles against each other on the computer for years!” Sven explained. “When we got access to real mechs, it was a piece of cake. We had to get them up and running first, though. THAT took a lot of work. The mechs had been abandoned so long most of the systems were down.”

  “So let me get this straight… You found a lance of abandoned mechs, you figured out how to repair them, then you guys took them into battle and beat the &^%&^%$ out of a bunch of pirates?” The Colonel started laughing again. “How old are you anyway?”

  “I’m sixteen.” Sven said smiling widely. “Bjorn and Jake are seventeen.”

  “How about the girl on the radio?” the Colonel asked leaning back and relaxing a bit more.

  “Ariel? She’s seventeen. She’s Bjorn’s girlfriend.”

  “Amazing.” The Colonel exclaimed. “Well, I guess I can’t recruit you guys yet, you’re all too young to enlist in the Local Guard. So Mr. Langer, what are your plans for the mechs? The pirates are destroyed. Now what?”

  “Well, I hadn’t really thought about it much yet. For now we’re focused on salvaging the pirate mechs for parts, and to try to sell off what we can’t use. We’re hoping the funds from salvaging the dropship will pay the bills to repair the damage the mechs sustained in the battle. They’re pretty shot up.”

  “Any chance you’ll consider letting the military take over the mechs? We could really use the equipment.”

  “Well, I don’t know about that. Would you be able to buy them from us? I might consider selling a few of them for the right price.”

  Sven scowled at his father, but he knew better than to interrupt, especially when his dad held up his hand indicating he wanted him to keep quiet. This sounded like a negotiation of some kind, and Sven wasn’t quite sure where it was going. Bjorn wasn’t too happy either, hearing his father offer to sell his mech off to the military.

  “I don’t have the budget for that” Colonel Rakes countered. “Otherwise I’d already have a lance of mechs onboard. Would you consider some sort of lease? Maybe we could find some common ground where I could compensate you for the use of a few of the mechs.”

  “We might be able to do that, a couple of the mechs are currently undamaged.” Mr. Langer replied. He was thinking of Hai’s Chimera, the small Panther, and the big Deimos. “We also have a few tanks you might be interested in.” Mr. Langer remembered there were additional tanks in the end bays that hadn’t even been started up yet. Dan and Zane had only driven two of them.

  “Tanks? Oh, right. I remember you had two huge Demolishers out on the battlefield as well, in the lance that took down the dropship. Nice shooting by the way, guys. The quickest way to take down an aircraft is to take out the engines. But the dropship internal frames buckled when it hit the ground, it’s a total write off. It can’t be repaired. You should be able to sell off the remaining two lift fans and all of the avionics onboard. The rest you’ll have to sell off as scrap metal. That shouldn’t be too hard, the stronger lighter metals are always in short supply.”

  “Alright Colonel.” Mr. Langer said. “I’ll put together a list of the available equipment and the lease rates. I’ll have my attorney write up a basic contract we can start from, with provisions in it for repairing damage, liability, that sort of thing.”

  Mr. Langer stood up, followed by the guys and the Colonel. “That sounds acceptable.” Colonel Rakes replied, thinking ahead to training his men on the big machines. He patted Bjorn on the shoulder as they walked back around the house. “We may have a couple of mechs in our training simulator on the base. I need to look into that.”

  The men walked slowly back towards the opposite side of the manor house and off the grass. Rubbing his chin Colonel Rakes added, “I think we’ll keep the identity of the Special Forces troops a mystery for now. What the press doesn’t know won’t hurt them. They don’t need to know your boys were involved in the fighting. I’d never hear the end of that if it ever gets out.” Turning towards the boys he said, “You boys can keep Secret information secret can’t you? I trust you can. We haven’t heard a word about your activities at all until today. I’d like to keep your mechs in the area and the only way I can do that is if you guys can keep them out of the news. You can do that for me, right?” The Colonel winked at Bjorn and Sven and smiled.

  “Yes sir. We can do that!” Sven answered back quickly. He was just glad his mech hadn’t been sold off to the Local Guard.

  Stepping up to the military truck, the Colonel’s aide hopped out of the vehicle and opened the side door for his commander. Colonel Rakes shook Mr. Langer’s hand again, saluted Ben quickly, and clambered up into the vehicle.

  The guys watched the command vehicle trundle down the dirt road and out of the ranch compound through the main gate, raising a dust cloud as it went. Shading his eyes from the sun Mr. Langer turned towards Ben. “You’ll have to take charge of the salvage operation with the boys. They’re going to need a lot of help getting the dropship cut apart. Coordinate your work with the owner of the ranch, let him know we’ll try to help him out with any repairs he needs to fences and the like. His cattle are insured, so he should be just fine once he gets a settlement from the insurance company. But make sure he knows the salvage is ours. We have mechs to repair and that doesn’t come cheap.”

  “Sure thing. Bjorn and I will take it from here.” Bjorn grinned and knew he would get to do a lot of the heavy equipment operation, with help from Dan’s crew.

  “Sven, I need you to get online and find out what those mechs and tanks are worth. We can calculate a lease price based on their current value. See what you can find on mech repair costs while you’re at it. Jake, I want you to take point on tooling. Find out what we need to move the pirate mechs back here so we can work on them, then go with Bjorn to Hollister’s Heavies and get an estimate from them on equipment rental for the things we need. You can figure that out, can’t you?” he said smiling.

  “Sure thing, Uncle.” Jake knew the first thing he wanted to do, he wanted to go see Dan’s big truck Giagantor to see how big it really was. He’d heard about those big exploration trucks but he’d never see one up close and in person. He needed to call Dan and find out when he could come over. He’d never been over to Hollister’s Heavies before and it sounded like a lot of fun. “Where’s my zipPhone anyway.” He muttered as he headed back towards the house to look for it.

  Uncle Helmut grinned and watched the boys head off in all directions. He knew he had about an hour before all heck would break loose as the guys started stirring things up for the salvage operations. Smiling slyly, Uncle Helmut walked back towards the house rubbing his chin deep in thought.

  Chapter 23 “Giagantor” –––––––––––––––––––

  The next day Jake was all primed and heading out the door with Bjorn to go to Hollister’s Heavies to see Dan. Somehow it had turned into a major expedition, with Sven tagging along and the girls coming too. Jake didn’t mind, though. He hadn’t seen Tarra in a few days, not since the battle with the pirates. They could pick the two girls up on the way to Port Canaveral where the heavy equipment shop was located, just north of town. The guys set out towards Port Canaveral just after breakfast. Aunt Glory had packed a lunch for everyone, which had slowed things down a bit, increasing Jake’s anxiousness. Jake could just sense another adventure on the horizon.

  The guys passed all the huge trees lining Tarra’s long driveway and pulled to a stop in front of the ranch house near the base of the porch stairs in a cloud of dust. The dogs were there, barking and following the Ripsaw along with their tails wagging vigorously. Tarra was a bit slow coming out of t
he house, lugging a large bag full of snacks, a large thermos full of flavored water and ice, and she had a large apple in her other hand with a few bites taken out of it. Jake climbed out of the hatch onto the top of the vehicle and reached down to take her bag as she went to clamber up the rear of the track. Tarra handed her bag up to Jake and bit the apple to hold it in her teeth while she climbed up the back of the track. She needed both hands to climb the track like a ladder.

  “Hey there!” Jake exclaimed with a grin. “Ready to go? What’s all this stuff for? We’re just going into town, yah know.”

  Tarra smiled behind the apple, but waited until she was all the way up before she answered. Brushing the dirt off her fingers and removing the apple from her mouth, “That’s your majesty, to you. Don’t forget your etiquette.”

  “Sorry, …Your majesty.” Jake answered back with a sly grin. He gestured at the hatch for her to precede him down, which she did with a flourish. Jake dropped into the hatch and pulled the bag in after him. The bag dropped onto the floor in between the rear seats, as he flopped into his seat and buckled in.

  “Hey, careful with that! There are cookies in there.” Tarra snapped back at him.

  “Sorry. Hey, did you see the news the last few days? Our battle with the pirates is all over the place! It’s soooo rad to know more than everyone else for a change. I’ve seen our mechs on the Vid more times than I can count.”

  Tarra nodded and asked softly, “So when do I get to see the real video of the battle? All I’ve seen are a few news clips. You haven’t even invited me over to the base to watch them with you.”

  “Hey, that’s a good idea. I’ve been so busy trying to figure out how to modify the mechs so we can use them to load trucks I forgot all about it.”

  Tarra looked down at her hands and pursed her lips a little. Jake could tell she was feeling a bit left out. “Oh. Sorry. We’re having a meeting today to plan out everything we need to do to get the pirate mechs salvaged. We’re going to need a lot of help and you’re better at that than anyone.”

  Tarra glanced up expectantly but she didn’t say anything, her feelings were hurt and it would take a lot of Jake’s attention in order to correct it. Jake was starting to catch on, but he was still pretty new at the girlfriend thing. He still needed to learn to put her feelings first. Jake reached over and put his hand on top of hers as the Ripsaw jostled it’s way down the dirt road. He was surprised at how quickly her mood had shifted, it caught him by surprise. Tarra was usually all energy and smiling, but this new Tarra was far more sensitive and moody. Girls sure are unpredictable, he thought to himself.

  Tarra’s mood slowly lifted as they made their way over to Ariel’s ranch. Ariel was waiting in the rocking chair on the porch, her golden hair lightly wafting in the breeze. She took Bjorn’s breath away as they drove up to the porch. A couple of chickens darted out of the way underneath the porch as they came to a stop. A ranch hand in a forestry mech strode across the compound, it’s six hydraulic legs digging into the dirt as it went.

  “What the heck is that?” Jake interjected as he noticed the mech out the side window.

  “It’s a forestry mech.” Tarra answered. “See the big chainsaw on the front arm? ”

  Picture Pack: Forestry Mech

  “Kinda hard to miss!” Sven stated sarcastically. “The end of the boom telescopes out so it can reach way out the front, but you have to be careful and not tip it over when you reach out to the sides.”

  Bjorn laughed. “He should know, he tipped one over once. He looked like a cockroach with all his legs flailing in the air!”

  Sven glared back at Bjorn. “Yah, well, you’ve crashed plenty in the construction mech.”

  “Yah, but it’s not as funny as when you tipped that big bug over.” Bjorn said laughing.

  Ariel’s legs poked down into the hatch as she lowered herself down in. “Hi there girlfriend!” she called out to Tarra. “What’s up? I hear the guys sparring again. What did Sven do this time?”

  “Hey! I didn’t do anything!”

  Jake chimed in, “Oh, Bjorn’s just ribbing Sven about tipping over a forestry mech, said he looked like a big bug sprawled out on his back with his legs in the air.” Ariel grinned at Sven.

  Sven wasn’t amused, he glared back at Jake and retorted “Bad cousin! No Twinkies for you!” in a crazy accent, something he’d seen off some old video clip at the base.

  “What’s a Twinkie?” Jake asked puzzled.

  “Some kind of snack food.” Bjorn answered. “He’s been quoting ancient movies ever since Hai discovered the entertainment database on the network at the base.”

  “Oh, right.”

  Bjorn helped Ariel strap into the jump seat while Tarra and Jake chatted in the back seats watching Ariel get situated. Engaging the drive clutches, Bjorn pressed on the accelerator and the engine roared to life. Conversation became all but impossible as Bjorn rounded the circular drive and headed back out towards the main road. Port Canaveral was another half hour away.

  There weren’t as many trees in this part of the countryside, the vegetation was changing more and more to open grasslands and rolling hills. The road was very level here, very different from out by the Langer’s ranch. Here the roadbed had been straight cut through every hill to create a nice level roadway, not as much fun as cresting and bottoming every hill in the speedy Ripsaw.

  Jake was enjoying the ride. Turning to his left he had a cute girlfriend, in front were his two favorite cousins, and they were speeding along in the rad-est ride ever. He’d had more fun in the last six months than he’d ever had back on Lahti. For a moment, Jake thought about his parents back home. In the v-mail he’d gotten they looked like they were doing well, both were home with his grand parents and looking much better. His Dad was back on his feet, though he had quite a limp now until his legs finished healing. His Mom wasn’t quite as spry, she’d been on the side of the car that had been hit by the heavy hauler. She was still in a wheelchair, but was smiling and happy. They would be really proud of him, if only they knew what he’d accomplished since he’d arrived on Wayfarer. He couldn’t tell them about the mechs though, not without telling the whole world. V-mail wasn’t a secure means of telling anybody anything. Jake was positive the government went through everything electronic looking for intel. “Hmmm” Jake mused for a moment. “We might need to do something about that.”

  A short time later the guys pulled off the main road and into a large parking area in front of a large steel sided building painted with the black and yellow Hollister’s Heavies logo. The north end of the building had glass doors and windows and a second story of windows where the sales and rental offices were located. Large bay doors ran down the rest of the length of the building towards the south where the equipment storage yard was located. Most of the rollup doors were closed, but he could see sparks and smoke from welding erupting inside the darker interior of one of the bays. Jake could see heavy construction equipment of all kinds in the fenced yard to the south, and a few large cranes parked at the far end towering over everything else.

  Bjorn pulled to a stop in one of the parking spaces in front of the glass doors next to a black truck. The crew clambered out of the Ripsaw and collected outside next to the dented black truck, waiting for Bjorn who was the last one out. Jake noticed the truck bed had a large electric motor in it sitting on a wooden pallet, with a greasy gray gearbox attached to it. Oil was dripping out of the back of the truck onto the dirt.

  “I need to find a restroom.” Ariel pointed out to Bjorn as he joined everyone on the ground.

  “It’s inside past the stairs. I’ll show you.”

  The group walked in through the glass front doors into the lobby, which was filled with work shirts, coveralls, jackets, gloves and other work clothes. Off to the side Jake could see surveying instruments and tooling bits for sale along with a few pieces of lifting gear. Bjorn showed the girls where the hallway to the restrooms were while Sven vault
ed up the stairs to find Dan. Jake found a hot cocoa machine next to the coffee machine and proceeded to make himself a cup. Bjorn chatted with the technician behind the sales counter, he knew the guy from all of the visits he’d made to see Dan. After a few minutes Sven came back down the stairs with Dan in tow. By then Jake had burned the insides of his mouth with the hot chocolate.

  “Follow me, guys.” Dan said, waving them over towards the back door out into the next area. Dan lead them through a bay filled with racks and racks of spare parts, past a computer workstation where the inventory man was sitting on a tall stool, and out the next doorway into the high bay where five techs were taking apart some kind of boom man lift. The guys walked through into the next bay down and out past a large dozer which was getting refitted with a new cab. “The operator rolled that one down an embankment, broke out all of the windows and smashed up the cab pretty badly. The roll cage saved him, but the rest of the cab is pretty much toast.”

  Winding out past the damaged machine, Dan lead the guys out the rear rollup door and out into the bright sunshine. The concrete pad behind the first few bays held several machines in various states of repair, easier maintenance items since the area was outdoors. “This is where we change the hydraulic fluids, and do routine maintenance. The hard repairs we do indoors out of the weather.” Jake could see several racks with all kinds of steel beams, angle iron, pipes, and heavy steel bar stock stored under an awning.

  Dan lead the guys out into the yard past a row of brand new orange loaders and excavators, past a collection of heavy hauler trucks and out towards the back of the storage yard. Jake couldn’t see it from the front of the building, but the back of the yard sloped down, dropping down a steep rocky face to a lower storage area. Winding their way along the upper access road, Jake could see the top deck of an enormous truck parked at the base of the rocky outcropping. The truck was as high as the hill, Jake looked out over the rocks and was level with the top deck of the truck. “Holy cow! Is that Giagantor?”