A Cobra's Tale... Part 1: The Restless Warrior

Part 15: More Than Meets The Eye...

Red Dragon House, Port Racice, Tukayyid, FRR, December 6th 3066 As they reached the main entrance to the imposing steel and glass structure that was Red Dragon House, the sun was just beginning to rise, bringing with it a new day to Tukayyid’s northern hemisphere. Laz checked his watch and found it was just after six o’clock. The guard on the door saluted Yasmine and greeted her with a friendly “Good morning, ma’am!”. Apparently it was not unusual for her to come and go at odd times of the day. He politely stopped Laz with an outstretched arm – one hand resting lightly on the pistol holstered on his right hip. “Excuse me sir, could you state your business and show some ID?” “Yasmine put her hand on the man’s arm. “Its okay Kiro, he’s a friend”. She stopped, summoning the courage to continue. “It’s Sakamoto…his thugs attacked us…and had my father killed”. She stopped again, choking back fresh tears. “I’m pretty sure he’s not going to stop there. Lazarus here has offered his assistance. He’s served in the Federated Suns forces and his knowledge will be invaluable to us. I need you to contact Tai-i Matayama and have him deploy the guards in case of an attack”. The man was visibly shocked, but snapped off another salute, along with a “Yes, ma’am!” and activated his radio to speak to his superior. Yasmine led Laz inside and across the lobby to a bank of elevators. She swiped her passcard through the scanner and punched in a 6-digit code on the security panel beside the doors of the executive elevator and the doors hissed open. Once they were inside, she punched the button for Sub Level 3. Three levels down, the doors slid open and they walked along a narrow, dimly lit corridor with plain, painted walls and a vinyl-tiled floor. Laz’s curiosity continued to grow. At the end of the corridor was a large, heavy-looking steel door with another swipecard / keypad security system. Yasmine repeated the procedure she had used at the lift. There were a series of muted clanking sounds, an electronic beep and the lights on the keypad changed from red to green. Lightly grasping the handle, she swung it open with surprising ease – it was obviously well balanced on its hinges. She stepped into the room beyond and Laz followed her…into what appeared to be a combined workshop, test area and vehicle bay. As he stared in wonder round the enormous R&D facility, the door swung silently shut behind him…

Part 16: Hidden Depths...

R&D Labs, Red Dragon House, Port Racice, Tukayyid, FRR, December 6th 3066 Yasmine ignored the racks and work benches laden with weapons and other gadgets. She strode past vehicle bays housing APCs, hovercraft and scout cars, going straight to another heavy door set into the far wall. Again she opened it with her passcard and a keycode and disappeared inside. Laz, who had been running a professional eye over some of the more interesting items on display, hurried to catch up with her. He stopped dead in his tracks and stared up at the giant machines that stood before them in front of them were a pair of BattleMechs. One Laz recognized as a Jenner – the Clans had their own retrofitted version. The other he did not recognize, though it seemed to be a medium chassis armed entirely with medium lasers – similar to a particular configuration of the Clan Nova mech. Somewhat incredulous, he asked, “You know how to pilot these?” Yasmine, who was climbing up to the Jenner’s cockpit replied, “Correct…well, this one at least. You sound surprised…” “You do not look like a MechWarrior”. “Appearances can be deceptive”. “So it would seem. You still have not elaborated on what it is you plan to do. I would really like to hear your idea before we go any further”. “The Yakuza have two bases of operations in this town. One is in the merchant district - it is actually a bookmaker’s shop, though that’s not all that goes on there. The other is a mansion on the outskirts of town…they ‘acquired’ it after buying out another local businessman. Sakamoto took me up there a number of times when his boss threw parties”. She paused for a few moments and Laz waited patiently for her to continue. “If you want the whole truth, I plan on levelling both those places and killing everyone inside”, she said matter-of-factly. “And to answer you earlier question, to the best of my knowledge, they have no mechs themselves – the most they’ll have is light armour and man-portable weapons”. Laz listened attentively, inwardly impressed, though he gave no sign of it. He would never have pegged this girl as someone who could calmly and rationally plot the deaths of dozens of people. Still, he could understand her desire for revenge, though from his Clanner’s perspective it was more a matter of honour. “We still must be careful – even conventional forces can damage light mechs if they can concentrate their firepower”, he said after a few moments’ silent contemplation. “We…? So you’ll help then?” Yasmine asked, gesturing at the larger of the mechs. “Yes, although I will need a little time to familiarise myself – I do not recognise that particular design…what is it?” “It’s a Komodo – a Combine recon/strike mech. Not the fastest, but well armed. The techs have been working on some new electronics packages for it”. “Looks like a solid machine”, Laz said, nodding appreciatively. “Listen, I would suggest that you arrange for some of your security personnel to strike the bookmaker’s. Mechs stomping through the town will attract too much attention”. Yasmine thought for a moment. “If we can spare enough men from the defence of the facility, we’ll do it”. “You really think the Yakuza will attack the plant?” “If I know Sakamoto, he won’t be satisfied until I am dead”, she said, her voice flat and emotionless. At that moment the door swung open and Kiro stepped cautiously into the room, his gun at the ready. He relaxed visibly when he saw Yasmine and Laz. “Kiro…how did you get in here?”, said Yasmine in surprise. Kiro grinned and waved his passcard. “When I went to see Tai-i Matayama, he upgraded my security clearance…he’s done the same for all senior security staff to give us more freedom to move around the facility”. His face became serious. “I have come to offer my assistance in any way I can, Miss Nomura. I want to make those scum pay for what they did to your father”. “Thank you Kiro. As it happens, I believe I have just the job for you”, Yasmine replied gravely.