Triple Bee -- Velocity

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Date Posted: 20:30:38 03/11/03 Tue
Author: Officer Max Pendobal
Subject: Triple Bee

Officer Max Pendobal had been proud to serve on Cybertron, prouder still of the men and women who took to the skies in armored mech suits alongside their Transformer allies. But Max himself had never had the honor of calling himself one of the Skirmishers, his own security responsibilities usually keeping him close to Velocity. But as his experiences were proving, staying close to Velocity was no longer an option.

He pocketed his compass and activated his wrist-lantern, shining it on the gleaming mech in the darkened hammer. There were several others in the hangar, and Max could only guess and mourn the pilots who never made it here in the suddenness of the attack. This one, clearly marked 'Serenity', had caught his aged eyes, and he knew this was the way to go.

* * *

In the event of an emergency such as this, all human military personnel had been trained at some level in the use of the various weapons and transports at their disposal. Max double-checked the straps of his harness before flipping on the console and punching in the startup sequence. As the rocket-pack ignited, he recalled the Skirmisher's motto of "Our bite is as bad as our bark" and smiled. His smile quickly turned to a grimace as his features was pressed back by the force of his lift-off. Within seconds, he was out amid the battlefield.

In the silence of space, there was a certain beauty to the light spewing forth from both the drones and the larger hives in the distance. Max noticed a wolf and a dragon amid the combatants, and rechecked the suit's oxygen levels. He chaulked it up to technorganic transformers or perhaps pretender shells and continued on his journey.

His gamble was paying off so far. The suit was small, and the Swarm had larger targets to concern themselves with. Until their feast was complete he was beneath their notice. A pang of guilt struck Max now as he realized others in suits like this one had died horribly, noticed because they fought back, because they defended their home and their friends. His hand hovered over the weapon console.

Dare he? His family was worth living for. God, it had be SO long! And yet could he live with himself, knowing he had compromised his principles to be with them? Would they take him back if he fled? Would a heroic death cause more or less grief than a cowardly retreat?

No.

Max retracted his hand from the weapon console and instead engaged the forward thrusters. He was going to be all right, but on his terms. There was no good in meaningless sacrifice. Max would stand and fight, but he would do it smart, and make his contribution where it would do the most good.

He double-checked the charge on the suit's portable portal-generators, launchable magnetic devices used for evacuating trapped personnel in time of crisis. Full-power. Max smiled.

Officer Max pendobal was going to be all right....

"Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. "
-Dylan Thomas, Do Not Go Gentle into that Good Night

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Replies:

He navigated the hole like a professional... -- Officer Max Pendobal, 20:19:39 03/14/03 Fri