From: v055nmvy@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (David A Gaidasz)
Subject: White Knight: Dying in a Winter Wonderland
What has gone before: White Knight and Peregrine, on the run from ARES bounty
hunters, hide out in one of ARES' own cabins in the mountains. After about a
month there, their rest is ended by a convoy of ARES panzers. One narrow escape,
and one destroyed panzer later, they find themselves in the woods, their car
destroyed...
********************************************************************************
White Knight glanced over to Peregrine, who was shivering, despite the
long coat she wore. He was cold too, but he couldn't let that get to him.
Drawing his eyes away from her, he gazed up at the sullen grey sky, laden with
snow that would soon fall on the companions. He thought about their situation.
They were miles away from any shelter, save the one they had just deeded
over to the ARES corpcops in the panzers. They had a only the barest amount of
supplies, a couple of cans of ChunkyNoodle soup, a bag of stale Chee-Z snacks,
and, of course, two VERY stale granola bars. They had their weapons, but what
good were they, against an enemy that sucked the life from you without thought,
or care. Then he looked over at Peregrine again. He made a decision.
"Peregrine, we're going back. We have a better chance surviving against
the corpcops than we do in this weather, without shelter."
She just nodded, her teeth clenched in response to the cold. They
turned around, and began to trudge back through the gently falling snow.
It was twilight when they arrived back at the cabin. Peering in a
window, White Knight could see the forms of the corpcops, lounging around in the
mountain retreat. They hadn't even set up a security perimeter. They thought
that it was a tragedy that McCain had bought it, but, hey, it was his fault he
had lost control of his panzer. It was time to enjoy some time off.
White Knight, crept back to where he had left Peregrine, underneath
the arms of a pine. She had finally succcumbed to the cold, and was huddled in
a tiny ball in order to conserve heat.
"time to get up." he whispered, touching her shoulder gently.
"i'm sso tired..." she slurred, as she brushed his hand away.
"Get up, NOW!" he ordered, in his best command whisper.
"just let me sleep..." she said, groggily. Then, finally, she slipped
into a sleep.
"Damnit, Peregrine, you're not quitting on me now." He then made a
decision. Slinging the unconscious girl over his shoulders, he staggered to
the wing of the cabin that held the garage. Setting her down carefully, he
went over to the electronic keypad lock. He examined it, and he flexed his
numb fingers, trying to regain a flow of circulation in them. As soon as he
felt the tingle of blood flowing through his fingers, he pulled off one of his
gloves. The cruel wind bit deeply into the flesh of his fingers. He didn't
notice, caught up in his own thoughts.
"Please God, please let them be as lazy and stupid as corpcops usually
are." He proceeded to type in the code that he, himself, had installed the
first day he had been here.
A low, almost inaudible, rumble rang out into the cold night, as the
door slowly rose. White Knight whispered, "Thank you." into the dark, and
lifting Peregrine again onto his shoulders, walked into the dark garage.
Hitting the DOOR CLOSE button, he walked to the waiting panzers,
letting the relative warmth of the garage drive the chill from his bones.
Leaving the lights out, White Knight instead turned on the thermographic mode
of his carefully disguised cybereyes. The waste heat still glimmered on the
giant machines before him. He glanced over to where he had left Peregrine.
He gasped at how much colder she was than normal. Where before, blues and
yellows had played across her body, sickly, ruddy reds now ruled. It only
increased the urgency of his task. He went to the nearest machine.
"I hope it's not a rigger drive..." he whispered, as he noiselessly
climbed to the top of it, and cautiously tried the hatch. It cycled open, and
a blast of warm air rose to meet him. Slipping down into the tank, he carefully
undid his miniflash, and flashed it around the darkened cabin. It was covered
with pinups of girls in various stages of nudity, but, as he had expected,
from the relative ease in which he had entered the tank, it had a set of rigger
controls. Swearing softly to himself, he climbed out and proceeded to the next
machine. It was the same. And the next, and the one after that. About two hours
later, he was down to his last two choices.
"Well Peregrine, what say you?" She moaned softly, as if in reply.
"Okay, I'll try the one on the left. As he climbed up the side of the
tank, his exhaustion finally cost him. A wrench, left on on one of the rungs
after one of the drivers had fixed a loose panel, slipped from under his foot,
and clattered noisily on the ground. White Knight swore, and leaped up the
ladder to the hatch, even as shouts started coming from the inside of the house.
He pulled on the hatch. It was locked. Next to it, he saw a small keypad, in an
armored box. Smiling to himself, he unslung his trusty Mark XXII Assault cannon,
and aimed it at the panel. The panel exploded in a roar of thunder, fragments
scattering to the four winds. The hatch cycled open. Leaping from the tank,
White Knight grabbed Peregrine, and manhandled her up the tank, even as the
first of the corpcops sprinted through the door to the house. Dropping to one
knee, he squeezed off a shot with the Mark XXII. The unarmored man exploded,
and White Knight dropped into the tank, dogging the hatch behind him. Strapping
the unconscious Peregrine into the copilot seat, White Knight glanced over the
manual controls.
"Just like the ones the Army used." he muttered, smiling. He threw the
switch that would activate the power, and grinned as he heard the turbines
scream to life. Dropping into the pilot seat, he slammed on the forward thrust,
as the remaining corpcops dove for cover. The panzer screamed forward, smashing
through the flimsy garage door, and out into the waiting darkness.
********************************************************************************
White Knight and Peregrine are MY characters. Feel free to use them, as long
as they aren't turned into "Polish Mine Detctors" (you know, step-BOOM!) :)
(Stay tuned for: White Knight: Fire On the Mountain) :)
By the Way: Tanks! :) to Johnathan Burns, for giving me a smile, when my story
couldn't post...
________________________________________________________________________________
| White Knight | Disclaimer: I stand alone; |
| (aka David Gaidasz) | in thought and action, |
| v055nmvy@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu | fight and reaction. |
|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| "Why do things happen the way they they happen? For all I know, the world is |
| just one big game, and all our actions are determined by the roll of a die." |
|______________________________ -Dunkelzahn, Great Dragon |
| Support the Troops! USA! | (ShadowRun) |
|_____________________________|________________________________________________|
>From: v055nmvy@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (David A Gaidasz)
Subject: White Knight: Fire on the Mountain (part 1)
Date: 29 Aug 91 17:25:00 GMT
Previously:
White Knight and Peregrine, after a narrow escape from a squad of
of ARES panzers on vacation, find themselves on foot, in the mountains. When
Peregrine starts suffering from frostbite, White Knight decides to head back to
the mountain cabin where he and Peregrine had been hiding out. They manage to
steal a panzer, and roar out into the darkness, with the rest of the ARES
panzers behind them...
********************************************************************************
The proud eagle circled high among the lofty peaks, it's wings expertly
catching the morning updrafts. Its hunger satiated by a rabbit during its last
moment of inattention, the predator dipped and wheeled, basking in the glory
of the new day.
Suddenly, its ears picked up the keening of another predator, one much
larger and infinitely more dangerous. Instincts honed by years of avoidance
took over, and the eagle dove to the refuge of a clifftop aerie. Once again,
it made it to safety, and once again, the mighty predator gave over the field
to the predator known as man...
* * * * *
The panzer ripped across the landscape, smashing and tearing through
the dead underbrush of the woods, barely avoiding trees. Ahead, the forest
lightened, and with a thundering crash, the panzer exploded into a streambed.
Swerving to the left, the panzer roared down the narrow gully, ice and snow
melting under the furnace of the vectored thrust engines of the panzer. Behind
him, the scream of the engines of 9 other panzers could be heard, a bloodhound
wail in the empty forest.
Inside the panzer, White Knight sweated as he called on skills and
talents seven years forgotten. Every once in awhile, he glanced over to where
Peregrine lie slumped, still recovering from her brief exposure with
hypothermia. He couldn't, wouldn't, take the time to help her now. Not while
they were fleeing.
The sensors told the story as it unfolded behind him. The nine
remaining riggers, each controlling his tank with reigns of the mind, were
slowly, inexorably, closing on him. Every move he made, every manuver he
pulled, they could see, and react to, long before he could use it to throw
them off the scent.
White Knight flipped a switch, in an attempt to activate the now
quiescent weapons systems. The seat he was sitting in suddenly reclined,
ripping his hands from the controls. The tank lurched left, accellerating
towards the cliff face. White Knight lunged at the controls, grabbing them
and correcting just in time.
He tried again, flipping a switch on the brightly lit panel in front
of him. He was rewarded with a scratchy-sounding mechanical voice.
*All systems presently at 100% efficiency.*
White Knight barely contained a sigh of relief. "What type of battle-
comp are you, good computer?"
*I am a TACCOM Level IV battle AI, approved by Turin on January 23,
2049 Anno Domini...*
"Enough!" White Knight spat as he digested the information. "What is
the present status of the weapons systems?"
*175mm Gauss Cannon, Fully loaded, Safety Interlock engaged.*
*Twin 100mm AutoCannon, Fully loaded, Safety Interlock engaged*
*8 Thor anti-tank missiles, Safety Interlock engaged*
*2 Firelight anti-aircraft missles, Safety Interlock engaged*
The voice stopped. White Knight asked,"Is that it?" A pause.
*TACCOM Level IV battle AI, 100% efficiency.*
White Knight chucckled. "Humble little beast, aren't you. Disengage
Safety Interlocks, and arm weapons."
*To do that, I must have a proper authorization code, or a direct
order.*
"Well, I order you to disengage Safety Interlocks on the weapons."
*From command...*
"goddamned machines are taking over the bloody world..." White Knight
muttered. He paused.
"Radio Silence is in effect. No messages to command are to be
transmitted. I have been given level 1 priority on local matters."
The computer paused.
*Noted. Weapons free, sir.*
White Knight smiled triumphantly. "gotcha," he murmered. "Release
weapons to manual control."
*Sir, I must note that I would be able to control the weapons to a far
greater efficiency than any human could.*
"Objection noted. Just release the blasted controls!" White Knight's
nerves were fraying.
*Weapons released to independent control. sir.*
A small panel on the right arm of the control board slid open, and a
small keypad with several buttons on and around it popped up. On the
viewscreen in front of him, a set of crosshairs in blazing florescent green
sprang to existence.
White Knight placed his hand on the weapons controls, and tapped the
leftmost button. The crosshairs on the screen followed. He grinned.
*Data indicates that pursuers will be within range of their weaponry
in 2 minutes, at present rate of pursuit*
White Knight glanced at the radar screen. "Damn..." His fighting with
the computer had slowed him down. The gully walls extended high to either side
of his tank, making it impossible to escape the trap.
"Computer, access maps, and plot a course that will carry me clear
of this ravine, with minimal damage."
* * * * *
High in the skies above the Rockies, a satellite floated. Analyzing
thousands of patterns, it noted one out of the ordinary, and fired a beam
to a location hundreds of miles higher, to where a wheel spun majestically in
space.
The technician glanced at the computer screen in front of him. Reading
the data transmitted by the satellite, he nudged one of his companions.
"Take a look at this." He motioned at his screen. "Some poor slob is
about to get his ass kicked by some Panzers."
His partner looked at the screen. "Get a transponder lock. Those
Panzers are slightly too close to the Training Command position for me to
relax."
A few moments later, his computer hummed.
* Targets are ten GMC Banshee Panzers. *
*Owned by AREScorp. Piloted by the 7th *
*Tactical Armor platoon. Code Named: *
* CAVALIERS Panzer team Status: Elite *
* Lead Tank just declared Renegade by *
* AREScorp. Search and Destroy orders *
*announced by AREScorp. 1 million nuyen*
*bounty on pilot's head. Dead or Alive.*
"Renegade! What the hell they mean, Renegade?" One of the operators
asked.
"Means whoever's down there is in for a world of pain."
* * * * *
White Knight watched the screens flashed onto the windshield.
*A break in the gulley will appear on the left in 5 seconds. Shall I
control?*
"Yes." Suddenly the Panzer rocked to the left, as thrusters blowtorched
in an attempt to negotiate the turn. A tiny stream appeared, and much to White
Knight's amazement, the panzer rocketed into it, freeing itself from the
winding deathtrap of stone that was the gulley.
* * * * *
"The Renegade has turned toward the Training Command!!" The technician
yelped.
The Officer of the Day paused a moment. "Where's Commander Dailey?"
One of the technicians spoke up. "He's on that personal crusade of his,
sir."
"Damn! Can't he look for old friends on his own time!" The O.D. paused.
"Can you get a hold of the Training Command commander?"
The communications tech nodded. "I'll get right on it. The bloody
atmospherics are playing hell all the standard channels, though sir."
"Get to it. Oh, and alert Alpha squad. We may have a hot drop on our
hands."
"The only squad on station is Echo." one of the techs reported.
"Just tell them to mount up. It would look bad if the Training Command
of the Second Drop Cavalry buys it, now that we've finally gotten operational."
* * * * *
Commandant Dailey sat nervously in the Ford Americar.
"Are you sure his last known location was here?" he asked his aide,
glancing around at the concrete and steel that made up the Seattle Sprawl.
"Yes, Sir. His last recorded use of his credstick was in that that
bar across the street." The aide said in a confident voice, that belied the
fear that her information was wrong.
The commander of the Second Drop Cavalry focused his gaze on the
battered building across the street. It was a bar, of the type found in
countless cities, across the world. It's flickering neon sign said at times
CHATUBO, or maybe HTSUBO, or even CATSUBO, but occasionally it would flicker
to totality to announce the CHATSUBO.
"No guts, No glory," he muttered, and opened the door to the car. The
smell of the street assaulted his nostrils. The stench of death, corruption,
and fear cloyed in his nose, making it almost impossible for the veteran of
four wars to breathe. His aide almost immediately vomited onto the street by
the car.
"You alright?" he asked his aide, proffering a handkerchief.
"I'll be fine sir...Let's just get into the bar, find your buddy, and
get back to the station.
The two started across the street.
* * * * *
PS Sorry about the delay. I was sorta gone this summer. Expect more soon.
White Knight
________________________________________________________________________________
| David Gaidasz | Disclaimer: |
| (aka White Knight, KnightWalker) | I stand alone; |
| v055nmvy@ubvms.cc.buffalo.edu | in thought and action; |
| | heart and reaction. |
|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------|
| "Why do things happen the way they they happen? For all I know, the world is |
| just one big game, and all our actions are determined by the roll of a die." |
| -Dunkelzahn, Great Dragon (ShadowRun) |
|______________________________________________________________________________|
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