Camelot Command...she thought to herself. The Neo-feudalism that had grabbed a tight hold of the Inner Sphere gave her a strong sense of apprehension, but the SLDF had named the place after myths and legends from old Terra. She never quite got that appeal, but it was just a name. She let out a long, happy sigh as her fighter slid into the bay. This was a Goliath Scorpion facility, and had been for almost 25 years. That was about to change though. The recall order had been given and the technical crews and laborers were running triple shifts to break down every piece of equipment they had installed in the intervening years. They were going to leave this place the way they had found it. Nothing but the wind in the rocks…
“Hey Boss, It looks like we are on schedule to get everything loaded up in time to make our meeting at Zeta.” Roy said over the radio.
“How are the technical crews doing?”
“Well, they were not happy with the dismantling order, but they are doing their jobs as expected.”
“They do service to their Clan.” She answered him.
“Indeed, I have to admit when we started this journey, i never thought it would turn out like this.”
“Like what?”
“The Lonesome Road…”
Every Seeker followed their visions...the Necrosia provided an altered state of perception that gave Seekers insights into places and things they would never have found other ways. The visions dominated the life of every Seeker, and they had all heard stories of Seekers who had pursued their visions and never returned home. They walked the Lonesome Road, and their loss diminished all of the Seekers.
“Ivan is right, there is no place for us at home with our skills.”
“I know, but i always thought we would see home again someday.”
“We have to build a new home, and we have worked very hard over the years to do that. This place, Zeta, everything else we have done has lead us down the Lonesome Road.”
“I guess it is not so Lonesome when we walk it together…”
“That’s the spirit.”
“The rest of the technical staff would like to borrow some of your time. They have downloaded our computer cores and returned the facility computers to the way we found them. I understand Geri wrote a program for them to simulate the missing years with sensor data and other records.”
“Is Geri here?”
“She was, she dropped off a couple of things but proceeded to Zeta. I hear she is waiting to see you when you get there.”
“Has she gotten her drone to work?”
“As i understand it, she is planning to put him through his first walk on Zeta.”
“That’ll be fun.” She smiled softly as she exited the fighter.
“Oh, what did you want to do with Ivan’s desk?”
“Oh...well….let’s take it with us. He’ll need a new desk on Zeta.”
“That’s what i thought you’d say. Roy out, I’ll meet you in the bay in 60 seconds.”
Rik looked out of the docking bay, staring at the nebula. This facility had been built here because of that Nebula. If you didn’t know what you were looking for, you could fly right past this place and not even realize you were here. Space was a very comforting thing for her, and over the years she had spent considerable time here.
“Hey Boss.” Roy smiled through his flight helmet. The bay doors were closed, but the transparisteel gave a clear picture outside.
“How you holding up Roy?”
“Pretty good, clearing out my quarters took longer than I expected.”
“That’s going to suck.”
“A little, but i already had the laborers clear out the rest of the squadron’s kit. We’re currently running heavy cargo operations to get everything packed up. We even have the last load of Hydroponics equipment and the extra computer cores for Flynn.”
“Rearranging our Logistics tree is going to be a nightmare.” Rik said slowly.
“As i understand it, the Frost Giant already redistributed our supply chains and started redirecting traffic away from here. This place won’t be ours for much longer.”
“That sounds like Ivan. Have you been to Zeta before?” She asked him.
“Once, as part of a cargo run. That place is a hole in the ground.”
“Spoken like a spacer.” She smiled at her friend.
“Maybe we can get Ivan to build us an orbital.” Roy answered her.
“That would be a refreshing change.”
“I am going to let you deal with the techs while i finish the loading. I will see you for dinner tonight.”
“Sure thing, Roy, I will see you then.”
They split, Roy heading down to the Command and Control Center to supervise the dozens of technical crews who were loading the last few dropships in their fleet. Rik went up to Ivan’s office and sat down in his giant chair.
“Begin Audio Recording” She said softly to the computer.
“Greetings, whoever finds this facility. I congratulate you on finding this gem scattered throughout the stars. I am sorry there is no treasure here to find beyond the records in the databanks, but the Star League Defense Force stripped this place of war materiel during the liberation of Terra. I sincerely hope that you utilize this facility to the best of its capacity, and that you can use it to help you understand the Star League and the ideals it stood for. Go in peace, and may starlight watch over you in the darkness between the stars.”
She turned the recorder off and borrowed Ivan’s favorite bottle of scotch. It was going to be a long year.
“That’s going to suck.”
“A little, but i already had the laborers clear out the rest of the squadron’s kit. We’re currently running heavy cargo operations to get everything packed up. We even have the last load of Hydroponics equipment and the extra computer cores for Flynn.”
“Rearranging our Logistics tree is going to be a nightmare.” Rik said slowly.
“As i understand it, the Frost Giant already redistributed our supply chains and started redirecting traffic away from here. This place won’t be ours for much longer.”
“That sounds like Ivan. Have you been to Zeta before?” She asked him.
“Once, as part of a cargo run. That place is a hole in the ground.”
“Spoken like a spacer.” She smiled at her friend.
“Maybe we can get Ivan to build us an orbital.” Roy answered her.
“That would be a refreshing change.”
“I am going to let you deal with the techs while i finish the loading. I will see you for dinner tonight.”
“Sure thing, Roy, I will see you then.”
They split, Roy heading down to the Command and Control Center to supervise the dozens of technical crews who were loading the last few dropships in their fleet. Rik went up to Ivan’s office and sat down in his giant chair.
“Begin Audio Recording” She said softly to the computer.
“Greetings, whoever finds this facility. I congratulate you on finding this gem scattered throughout the stars. I am sorry there is no treasure here to find beyond the records in the databanks, but the Star League Defense Force stripped this place of war materiel during the liberation of Terra. I sincerely hope that you utilize this facility to the best of its capacity, and that you can use it to help you understand the Star League and the ideals it stood for. Go in peace, and may starlight watch over you in the darkness between the stars.”
She turned the recorder off and borrowed Ivan’s favorite bottle of scotch. It was going to be a long year.
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