ATOUK
06 May 3069Orbital Insertion
Tohelet, Free Worlds League
The Leopard-class dropship bucked and swayed as it hit the atmosphere of Tohelet. Atouk offered a prayer to the Den Mother, Damana. Atouk was no longer terrified of what the sky people called “atmospheric re-entry” but he still couldn’t help that the lack of a prayer might bring ominous results. He didn’t really understand why the ship danced like a puppet in the upper atmosphere, but he had gotten used to not understanding things in this strange world. He knew that shortly they would be on the ground. Then he would meet the rest of his new tribe.
The people seated next to Atouk in the mech hangar didn’t look too troubled by the turbulence. The scarred one named Sramek maintained a practiced look of indifference. Atouk did not trust him. Sramek didn’t seem like he cared much about the tribe. The one that the others jokingly called Whiskey stared straight ahead with a haunted look. Something about Whiskey made Atouk nervous, as if he were possessed by evil spirits and not fully in control of himself. The angry-looking young one named Olafsen had his head down but one of his legs was moving up and down restlessly.
None of the other men made particularly good conversational partners, but then Atouk wasn’t much for talking anyway. He only used words when he needed to and even then with economy in mind.
Of the three men, he understood the angry one the best. He was angry too sometimes. He hoped it wasn’t eating him up the way it appeared to be eating up Olafsen. Atouk was angry at the zealots called “Word of Blake” who had killed his former adopted tribe. Thanks be to the Den Mother, Atouk’s original tribe was still safe on the world of his birth. The Bone Elk tribe spent their days hunting the elk of the plains, smoking their meat, and raising babies in their cave dwellings. It was a happy and simple life. Thinking back, Atouk wasn’t sure why he had left. He had been a curious young man seeking adventure and glory. When the explorers from Comstar had come in their metal skyskips, he had begged them to take him on their adventures. They had indulged him and taken him along when they left.
Atouk had gotten his fill of adventure, but then the bad men had come and killed his tribe. He had survived but had nowhere to go. Atouk learned to survive on the streets as a lone wolf without a tribe. Thats when the man they called Hawker had found him and recruited him into this new tribe, the Flaming Devil Monkeys. Hawker had promised that these Flaming Devil Monkeys were a tightly knit tribe and that Atouk would fit right in. Looking around at the other new recruits, Atouk wasn’t so sure.
Suddenly, the alarm klaxon rang. Captain Schwartz’s voice came over the loudspeaker. “New plan, boys! The Monkey’s position is currently under assault from unidentified assailants. We are coming in hot for an assault drop behind their lines. I am not going to slow down to let anyone take potshots at my ship, so get in your mechs now!”
The men all looked at one another in some disbelief. Atouk had never done a combat drop before. He may have gotten used to the skyship landings, but how was he supposed to land a mech?
“I am not getting paid enough for this shit!” Sramek said bitterly as he grabbed his neurohelmet and headed for his Penetrator mech. That one does not fight for the tribe, Atouk thought. After a moment’s hesitation, the other two pilots also sprinted toward their mechs.
Atouk loped easily over to his own newly assigned Marauder mech. Unlike most mechs in its class, this Marauder had been equipped with jump jets, which would assist with an assault drop. Atouk climbed into the cockpit with pantherish grace and began his initiation protocol. Once he felt the hum of the mech as it came alive around him, the nerves in his stomach settled. It was as if he and the mech were one warrior spirit. He gave a prayer to Cerunno, the antlered god of the hunt, and waited patiently for the signal.
It came soon enough. The captain’s voice over the loudspeaker. “Bay doors opening in 3…2….1. Execute!”
The wind whipped around Atouk’s mech as the belly of the skyship opened the sky to him. Atouk had a slight moment of nausea as his senses adjusted to the horizon and then he jumped. As the ground plummeted toward him, he fired his jump jets, slowing his fall. The mighty mech landed with a loud thud, but its actuators absorbed the shock of the fall. Atouk felt his own senses merge with those of the mech as he kept it balanced and upright. He gave another prayer to the Den Mother as he realized he was on the earth once again. Swampy marsh and peat bog stretched out before him. He could see mechs trudging through this difficult terrain striving against one another for glory and survival. The air was thick with smoke and the smell of ozone. Targeting a large assault Cerberus in the rear, he gave a bestial cry and charged.
Atouk stood on top of his Marauder, cooling slightly in the fresh air while he surveyed the scene. He was covered in sweat and his breast still heaved with adrenaline. The landscape was marked by the divots of artillery shells and mech carcasses. Underneath the lingering scent of ozone, he could smell the earthy sweetness of the peat bogs.
The arrival of four more mechs by assault drop had shaken the opposing forces, who were already hard-pressed. The survivors had fled shortly after their arrival, although he had gotten in some good shots.
Several mechs in the bright orange and red colors of the Flaming Devil Monkeys approached him. One of them began to get out of his cockpit. Atouk began to descend from his mech, taking the ladder three steps at a time. As he reached the bottom, his bare and calloused feet sank into the rich soil. It was a wonderful feeling. He looked up to see a muscular dark-skinned man with a bald head approaching him.
“You must be Atouk?” The man said. Atouk grunted a positive response. The man gave him a groad toothy grin.
“Hawker told me all about you. I am Taharqa.” The man paused and gripped Atouk by both shoulders. Atouk was surprised that the man knew the proper warrior’s greeting of the Bone Elk tribe.
“We are the Flaming Devil Monkeys. Welcome to the tribe.”