Dragon Award winner and nominee Brian Niemeier has released his second novel in the Combat Frame XSeed series: Combat Frame XSeed: Coalition Year 40. He's making a return appearance on Geek Gab today to talk about it. Embedded below.
You can--and if you're a mecha fan, you should--pick up your copy at Amazon. Kindle version is 99 cents for a limited time; paperback is $10.99.
Sibley struggled to make his way to the bridge. At every turn he fought three or four to one, cutting and blasting through would-be pincer moves to fix him before they fry him with blasters. But then they push him into the lift, and from the bridge they run him down to the cargo hold.
In the hold, Sibley sees a giant-sized sensory deprivation tank. Cables and waldos runs from the walls and attach to it, securing it in place. Curiosity claims him, and he approaches. As he does, the foreboding fills him, but he steels himself and advances. As he comes about, he sees what--who--rests inside.
"Mother of God..." Sibley gasps.
"Satisfied?"
Sibley turns around and there he sees a big, blue-skinned brute bearing a beam sword. "I'd hoped to find the captain."
"I'd hoped to fight the Paladin." Gori said, igniting the blood-red beam blade as he approached Sibley, "You will have to do."
"The right-hand men fighting on our masters' behalf, eh?" Sibley said as he stood ready, "I appreciate the poetry of it."
"Consider this a courtesy." Gori said as he squared off against Sibley, "I could have just blown the seals and sucked you out of here, but I'd rather that you know why you failed before I toss you out the airlock."
"Win before you taunt."
Gori lunges at Sibley, a blow the old man beats away but forces him back. Sibley adjusts his stance, putting his sword hand into a place where deflecting the force of Gori's strikes is much easier, and then reads the pirate's body language as Gori attacks. The pirate has youth, reach, and power over Sibley but lacks skill and isn't wearing a personal screen- just armor.
Sibley soon sees that Gori's strikes are better suited to a hatchet than a sword, as he finds the pirate not thrusting now. Still possessing his pistol, Sibley shifts his feet when he moves to parry Gori's next overhead chop. In a smooth motion, Sibley shifts his sword to his off-hand, and as he blocks the chop Sibley draws his pistol and shoots Gori multiple ties square in the guts.
Gori cries out in pain, and he staggers, but he only falls to one knee. "I figured you might try something like this." Gori said, grimacing, and Sibley saw a second layer of armor that his blaster failed to penetrate as Gori got to his feet.
"You're smarter than you look." Sibley said, breaking off and holding Gori at the point of his blaster. The old man flicked a switch with his gun-hand's thumb. "That's a mistake I make only once."
"Fortunately, old man, its not the only one you make this day." Gori said, his breathing labored as he sealed his armor and turned on his suit's magnetic anchors, "DO IT!"
Sibley recognized the tell and sealed his armor also, but not soon enough to anchor himself as the cargo hold's door opened to space. The explosive decompression blew him--and several unsecured items--out of the ship's hold. As he tumbled, he keyed into his suit's comlink for Creton to retrieve him. This took the Baden-Powell away from the Revenge just long enough to allow Dashing Jack's plan to reach fruition.
As the hold's door closed shut once more, Gori released his anchors. "We're ready and the ship's clear. Follow when ready, Captain."
Outside, Ramsey held Jack in a mech-to-mech beam sword clinch. "You're cornered, Jack!" Ramsey said, "Your ship's boarded. The Maribu's soon to catch up, and I'm more than able to hamstring your ship to ensure that Duke Far does so."
Jack answered with a smug smirk. "Am I?" he said, and then he pressed the button he installed into his cockpit.
Ramsey watched as Jack's mech seemed to jump away with the Revenge, without tether or external jump drive, and after a moment he slammed a fist against the cockpit. Soon thereafter he and Sibley rendezvoused with the Maribu and met with Duke Far in the Duke's quarters.
"You're certain?" Far said, "A fallen angel?"
"Aye, Your Grace. No mistaking that visage."
"Which means that this entire affair was a very elaborate ruse." Far said, "But for what end, and why bring the Church into it?"
"We'll find out soon enough." Ramsey said, "But I am certain of this: not only will we see Jack again, but his master also. This prize is a horrible one for them to seize. The Court of Stars must be informed."
"I'll handle that, Lord Roland. There are foolish interests in the Court that cannot be trusted to know the full details, lest they seek to exploit them at the expense of Christendom."
Dashing Jack and Sir Ramsey took aim at each other, while their wingmen broke off and engaged the enemy. Both men launched missiles at the other, forcing counter-missile fire using beam rifles, before they closed to gun range and began manuevering around each other in a dogfight. During this action, Sibley switched from mech to mech in his attempt to weave his way through the furball and sneak his way to the Revenge, and he ended up relying on his personal vernier backpack when he realized that he couldn't ride his way there.
To mask his presence, he stayed in an ironic position- squarely between the nearest point-defense batteries and the dogfighting mechs off the starboard bow. While risking life and limb flying down through a hail of blaster fire, against which his personal screen would--at best--let him take one stray shot, the veteran sergeant-at-arms kept cool knowing that so long as he kept inside the blind spots of the guns the odds of getting shot were slim.
Keeping an eye out for the old man was his son, Creton, at the controls of the Baden-Powell, doing his best to drive the gunners' attention away from Sibley when the dogfighting mechs couldn't hold it. Swift fly-bys, blasting the hull near the ship's sensor array, ensured that those point-defense guns that could otherwise have noticed the old man instead chased the scout ship in vain.
While the Maribu now accelerated, giving chase, and therefore kept up its barrage from its turrets the Revenge no longer had any line of sight to return fire. With its missiles depleted, it had no means to return fire either. Nonetheless, both Jack and the few wingmen left he had would not give up or retreat.
"You won't escape." Ramsey said, "I'll soon overwhelm your squadron, then you, and then your ship will be my prize."
The Maribu's guns again got closer with each barrage. Missiles launched upon the Revenge started to overwhelm the point-defense guns, striking near her engines.
"No, Paladin." Jack said as he ignited a beam sword and went to melee, "You and your ally are easily read."
Ramsey's wingmen from Gatewatch, while taking serious losses, now gained the upper hand and began sweeping away Jack's depleted squadron. Sibley now reached the dorsal hull of the Revenge, and with beam sword in hand began to look for a hatch.
"You think the situation is a simple piracy problem, Paladin. Now you shall see how wrong you are."
Hatches on the dorsal hull opened, and armed pirates emerged with blaster rifles. Sibley drew his pistol, used his sword to block a few shots, and ducked for cover behind an active turret. "I'm pinned! BOY!"
Creton came about and strafed the hull, sending some pirates into cover and the rest to their maker. As Creton passed, Sibley broke out and charged the nearest pirate standing. He shot that man down with three well-placed shots, and then turned to the next one; he knocked away the few shots that man got off before returning fire. Once he closed, he cut down the cad with his sword. A third took a shot between the eyes before drifting off into the void, and the last one fired and fired and fired as Sibley calmly advanced on him.
"Mercy!" the pirate cried.
"Exterminatus." Sibley replied, and removed the offender's head.
Then Sibley, finding the nearby hatch, cut his way through to the airlock. He waited for the emergency seal to close off the outside hatch, and then cut his way through the inside hatch to gain access to the ship proper. Once through, he found what he expected: battle lighting, alarm klaxons, and calls over the comms for reports to and from the bridge.
"I'm in." Sibley said into his comlink.
On the bridge of Redalen's Revenge, battle lighting and alarm klaxons mirrored the mood of her captain and crew.
"Helm, bring us about. Configure for point-blank range and go all-ahead full!"
Gori looked to his captain. "Ready here, Captain!"
Jack called down to the hangar. "Prepare my mech for launch. I'm going out." he said, and then gave a thumbs-up to Gori. The space pirate headed for the lift while his lieutenant took his position. As Jack descended from the bridge to the hangar bay, Revenge turned about to advance on the Tiger of Maribu, dodging volleys from its turrets in doing so, and it turned on its axis to present all of its guns upon the enemy.
"Fire!" Gori bellowed, and all of the pirate's cannons fired upon the Maribu, scoring solid hits across the dorsal hull. A volley of missiles followed, swarming down and forcing the point-defense systems to their limits. With the mech squadron brawl now moving to push between the two battleships, the Maribu adjusted its position to maximize its turrets' ability to fire upon the Revenge.
Now Jack ran through the hangar bay, rushing across the open space to where his personal mech stood ready for him. Once inside, and the cockpit closed, he keyed the comlink as he rushed through takeoff.
"Gori, transmit Order Zahn and wait for my signal."
Jack's mech finished its takeoff sequence. Powered up and ready to go, Jack maneuvered to the ventral hatch and stood ready. Oh the outside, the Revenge and the Maribu pummeled each other with successive volleys from their turrets as well as emptying their missile bays with repeated launches as they closed to point-blank range. Back inside, Jack monitored the distance between the two ships, and when the distance reach clear visual range, Jack keyed the comlink: "GO!"
Jack launched from the ventral hatch, now appearing upside down from the perspective of the Maribu, and used the exchange of fire to cover its signal until it appeared out of the Revenge's shadow. Then it joined the dogfight, quickly clearing out Far's men and relieving his own. With no more enemy mecha, they fell in behind Jack and followed Jack's assault on the Maribu as the Revenge pummeled it without mercy. While several of his men fell to the ship's point-defense guns, enough slipped across the hull to support Jack's attack on the engines to make the threat of crippling or destroying them viable.
"Maximum firepower!" Jack said, "Now!"
Jack and his remaining men launched every munition they had and exhausted their guns by unloading them into the Maribu's engines. Several satisfying explosions erupted from them, forcing the engineers therein to flee as bulkheads slammed into place to contain the damage and expel the explosive forces into space. With oxygen quickly consumed, the fires flared out fast, but by then the ability of the Maribu to maneuver had already been hobbled.
"We're done here. Let's go." Jack said, and as the Revenge now began to open the distance again Jack lead what men he had left back into the hangar bay of the Revenge. The battleships kept firing upon each other, lancing each other with main guns and further slicing each other up with the secondary guns, but the engagement was now decided and both Jack and Duke Far realized it.
Unless Ramsey arrived in time.
On the bridge of the Tiger of Maribu, Duke Far stood next to the stellar navigation station when an alert sounded.
"Your Grace," a crewman said, "the scout's in position at the suspect location."
"Main screen." Far said, and the video feed from the scout appeared on the big screen. In real time, the scout showed the asteroid pirate base, and its activity resembled that of a panicked wasp hive. Not one of the vessels leaving the base was a warship. Instead, Far witnessed a bunch of pirates in unarmed mechs towing away the stolen container units, apparently leading to a point on the edge of the solar system- right where it opens to deep space.
"Scout, have any warships or mecha come or gone?" Far said, following a hunch.
"None, Your Grace." the scout said, "This is all that's been going on since the base lit up a few moments ago. Just prior to that a burst signal terminated here. Your Grace, this isn't a muster for battle; these pirates are abandoning their base of operations."
Far looked over at his Communications Officer, who nodded affirmatively in anticipation of the question. "Scout, send the trajectory of the burst signal back here. Stay on station, observe, and if detected flee."
"Yes, Your Grace." the scout said, and moments later the requested data appeared. The Communications Officer superimposed the data on a map of the system, revealing a point on the edge of Garmil's Gate's atmosphere.
"General Quarters!" Far said, and the battle lighting came on as the alert klaxons sounded. "Helm, intercept that ascending ship."
The Tiger of Maribu's engines flared to life once more, turning the battleship about and heading away from Gatewatch on an intercept course. As the battleship raced to intercept Redalen's Revenge, the mech squadron aboard ship scrambled and stood ready to launch upon contact.
"Missiles at the ready." Far said, anticipating what's to come, and soon the map updated with positive sensor contact.
"Launch!"
A salvo of missiles fired their engines and flew from their tubes, clearing the battleship before turning and flying towards their target. Immmediately thereafter the mech squadron launched, taking up their formation ahead of the Maribu. The ship's main guns now powered up, anticipating closure to combat ranges presently.
"Enemy missiles inbound!" a crewman said, "Enemy secondary signals confirmed. Tiger Leader has visual confirmation of enemy mecha and their mothership."
"On screen."
Redalen's Revenge appeared on the main screen, starboard side in profile, racing as fast as it can go for the edge of the system.
"Missiles intercepted and destroyed."
"All ahead full! Time for the Tiger to pounce!"
The mech squadrons broke formation and engaged, turning quickly into a series of dogfights, as the Tiger closed on the Revenge
"We've reached gunnery range, Your Grace!"
"FIRE!"
The Tiger's forward turrets opened fire, alternating fire to maintain a steady assault of three-barrel barrages. The first volley scored a glancing blow and coruscated brilliantly off Revenge's shields, but the second hit square on the pirate ship's starboard side. The hit overloaded the shields, bored a hole in the armor and into the hull. Some hapless pirates not incinerated by the shot itself got sucked out into space during decompression before the bulkheads slammed down and sealed off the breach.
Revenge returned fire, tracking the Maribu and firing a barrage from its own turrets. One missed entirely, but two more hit and stressed the shielding on the ship's fore to its limit. A fourth went just high and skated off the shielding over the dorsal hull.
"Now if Roland can just join the battle." Far said, "We can finish Dashing Jack for good."
The Baden-Powell broke through Garmil's Gate's atmosphere once more, descending well below the clouds to answer the distress call from the noblewomen on retreat.
"The signal's still transmitting, Sir Ramsey." Sibley said, "I expect that as long as the women can keep the raiders out of their secured room, we can home in on that."
"Creton!" Ramsey said, speaking into his microphone, "On the guns, now!"
"Expecting a hostile reception are we?" Sibley said, and in response two blips came on the sensors coming from the noblewomen's location. "Contacts. Look like the escorts for our raiding party."
"Spin up the guns." Ramsay said, "Take them quickly, boy. We don't have time to waste."
Ramsey saw the guns powering up on his console. "Aye, my lord!" Creton said, his enthusiasm plain, "Standing by!"
"Fire when ready." Ramsey said, "Just make certain that you hit."
The turret rotated around the ship's axis, and the cannons pointed down slightly in the direction of their descent. Creton sat at the controls, fixed on the target reticle, as he saw the lead mech in the pirate element come into range. He marked the wingman's position behind the leader, and in a smooth motion shifted his aim to the trailing wingman. The boy pressed the trigger, and the blaster cannons threw forth a burst of hot plasma bolts downrange.
The leader laughed, thinking that the volley was meant for him, only to hear his wingman cry out a moment before dying as the mech's powerplant exploded. Before the leader got his wits about him, Creton sent a second volley. The bolts slammed into his mech's torso, first burning out the armor and then boring through the cockpit--and him--to the same result. Neither go so much as a ranging shot off.
"Scope's clear, my lord." Sibley said, "We're clear to land."
"No time, Sibley." Ramsey said, "Take the con. I'm dropping down, so I want you and Creton hovering overhead just in case."
"Understood, my lord." Sibley said as he changed seats, "Boy, take the co-pilot's chair."
Creton handed Ramsey the knight's baton, and moments later the ventral hatch opened. Ramsey dropped out of his ship, and free-fell the last half-mile or so to the target while the Baden-Powell veered off slightly. It was a good precaution, because now some ground-to-air missile launched from the surface. Ramsey spread his arms and legs wide, and a thin plasma-like energy flashed up to form a gliding suit out of his armor. The ship drew off and shot down the missiles, and then moved forward in case of more ground fire, which did come as both man and machine came within visual range of the wilderness retreat.
"Sibley!" Ramsey said, "Clear a path!"
Creton used the ship's guns to blow apart the makeshift anti-air gun the pirates put up, and then blew up the shuttle they meant to escape with. Those explosions kept the pirates' attention away from Ramsey until it was too late, and the Paladin glided down from above, swooping down upon them like a mighty eagle. In one smooth motion he landed on one pirate, kneeing the fool in the back and cracking the villain's head open upon the pavement, rolled forward, and shot a second dead with his pistol. A third came at him with a club as Ramsey got to his feat, only to be pushed off his line and shot down by Ramsey.
A forth cried out an alert before being shot dead in turn, and Ramsey knew that violence of action now was his only option. He put his pistol in his off-hand, drew his beam sword, and rushed into the retreat. Two came for him from around a corner; Ramsey ran one of them through, used him as a shield against the other and then shot the second down. They came again and again in twos and threes, until he cut down or shot dead a score in total. The last, standing before the armored door to the secured room, fell on his sword than face his doom like a man.
"I am Lord Roland of the Solar Guard." Ramsey said, putting forth his arms before the camera and showing his face, "The raiders are gone. You may come out now."
Moments a dozen nobles and their attendants emerged from the cramped room, taking their turns blessing him and kissing him, before their hostess and leader emerged. Neither eldest nor youngest, but clearly the highest in station by her bearing. She stood up to Ramsey's chest, a woman in the full bloom of youthful beauty, with straight red hair to her shoulders and eyes blue like a clear sky- a visage so striking that Ramsey paused a moment.
"We are grateful for your valor, Lord Roland." she said, "My father will hear of this for certain."
Ramsey bowed, affecting a courtly manner. "The loss of she whom is heralded as God's songbird would be a terrible injury to Christendom, Countess Robin. However, time is short and I must insist upon haste in escaping. Their master lingers nearby."
Countess Robin nodded. "Agreed. Bring forth your ship, Lord Roland. We are many, but we shall not saddle you for long."
Ramsey keyed into his comlink. "Sibley, bring the ship down and have Creton ready to assist. Tell Gatewatch to expect us presently."
Dashing Jack and his man Gori walked alongside the sensory deprivation tank enclosing the prize he came to Garmil's Gate for: the Watcher Azazel. Surrounded by men carefully controlling the transport of the tank, Jack knew he should feel at ease but was not- a tell that Gori noticed.
"Captain, wouldn't have been easier to wake up our prize and let him walk out under his own power?"
"Gori, you're not a well-read man, are you?" Jack said, "There's a very good reason to keep him under and present him to Red Eyes as he is, and that reason is because the odds of something going catastrophically wrong--killing us, or worse--in the process drop like a stone when the one most capable of doing so remains incapacitated."
"You talk like this is a weapon, Captain."
"Worse, Gori. He's the maker of weapons. This angel is a living, breathing, weapons factory. As as I know too well that rewards are useless if you're dead, I'll take the chance of displeasing Red Eyes over the certainty of reward for delivering what he wants into his hands whole, safe, and sound."
They entered the great lift and ascended to the dock.
"It's also faster to do it this way. No harder than moving a warhead this way, and we've stolen plenty of those recently haven't we? As time is not our ally-"
Gori made an obscene thrusting gesture. "The sooner we're back in port making our way through the pillow dens at Ragdoll Randy's!"
"Focus, Gori." Jack said, snapping his fingers, "You know damn well that Fang won't occupy his betters for much longer, and need I remind you what happens next?"
"They come for us."
"And how long do you think it will take for them to conclude that we are here, and come to intercept us?"
Before Gori could answer, the lift stopped and the doors opened. At that moment, Jack got a call from the ship. "Captain, the Tiger of Maribu is here."
Jack hustled out of the way of his man. "Get that aboard and secured at once!"
Gori, anticipating his master's next command, gave it: "All hands, return to the ship. We are leaving! Any man not on board in 10 minutes will be left behind."
"Helm, prepare for takeoff." Jack ordered, "Squadron, get outside and run a combat patrol pattern. I won't be caught by surprise."
Gori looked at Jack, and the pirate captain sighed. "Gori, our team at the retreat is on standby, right?"
"Aye, captain. Shall I give the order?"
"Yes, but make this clear: they must be unspoiled, Gori! I'll unman them bare-handed if they dare disobey! We need them unspoiled!"
Gori gave that order over the coms, using a secure channel. Then he and Jack hurried back aboard Redalen's Revenge with the rest of the away party. As the engines spun up, and the crew ensured that their cargo got locked down, Jack took his seat on the bridge.
"Report!"
"The Tiger of Maribu and Gatewatch opened fire upon the Opulent Dragon. Captain, the Dragon won't last long."
"Nether will we if we don't get going. Lift off as soon as we're able, Helm."
Redalen's Revenge lifted off the prison's dock and backed out slowly, with Jack watching the scene in orbit all the while. Gori kept an eye on the mech squadron on patrol, and all aboard the pirate battleship felt a keen tension. First the Paladin, now Duke Far, and his obstacles keeping them at bay quickly crumbling to dust. The sway team attacking the noblewomen on retreat are the last chance he has to buy time and distance, and he knows it.
"Status on the retreat, Gori?"
"Underway, Captain. They'll report back when they're ready for pickup."
Jack nodded his acknowledgement, but both he and Gori knew not to expect that call. Those men are already dead.
The Opulent Dragon and the Tiger of Maribu began firing upon each other, and with the former battleship unable to manuever the fight escalated into a merciless slugfest between the ships' main cannons. Meanwhile, both ships sortied their mech squadrons, which immediately rushed to engage each other. Gatewatch joined the fray, launch its mech squadrons and firing upon the Dragon in support of the Maribu.
The relentless pummeling by naval artillery shook the interior more and more severely, making the fighting inside become perilous beyond expectation. Ramsey, Far, and Far's bodyguard cut a bloody swath through Fang's loyal crew as they race for the Flight Deck, arriving just as they see Fang attempt to forcibly board Duke Far's shuttle only to see the pilot and co-pilot resist them.
Far keyed into a comlink. "Pilot! This is your Duke. We are approaching your position. Stand ready for the men and I to board."
"Acknowledged, Your Grace."
With a nod, Far and Ramsey rushed out of cover to attack Fang on the flank. The shuttle kept the traitor pinned down, and that left Fang open. The first few shots fired at the traitor's position cut down several of his men, dropping them to the deck, before Fang and the remainder shifted their position as best they could to cover against both threats. With Fang and Ramsey in the lead, their beam swords blazing, they quickly closed the gap and fell upon Lord Fang two on one- two of the best swordsmen in the galaxy against one cunning criminal nobleman.
Fang knew he couldn't win this encounter. Immediately on the back foot, he tried to disengage again and again, only for one or the other to thwart the gambit. Beyond the duo delivering his doom, he saw the shuttle admit Far's men. A well of resentment and frustration burst forth, unmanning Lord Fang and prompting him to lash out at Duke Far with a wordless howl of rage. Unmoved, Far stepped off Fang's line and struck. The first removed the condemned man's arm. The second removed his head.
Ramsey extinguished his sword. "I'll have Sibley pick me up."
"They'll fight to the last, but none shall survive." Far said, "Once we're both away, let us discuss the matter of Fang's former ally."
"Agreed." Ramsey said, "A temporary parting, Your Grace."
"Yes, Lord Roland." Far said as he shook Ramsey's hand, "Until later then."
Ramsey nodded, and Far took his leave. Boarding the shuttle, Far escaped the Dragon without further incident. A short time later, the Baden-Powell entered and hovered while Ramsey boarded. Once aboard and underway, Ramsey took his place in the pilot's chair and watched on the main screen as the combined fire of Gatewatch and the Tiger of Maribu finished their pummeling of the Opulent Dragon, with a final volley hitting the power plant and provoking a most violent explosion.
"May God have mercy on their souls." Ramsey said as the Baden-Powell approached the Maribu.
Duke Far, leader of House Far, stood on the bridge of the Opulent Dragon with a dejected Lord Fang kneeling before him while Ramsey stood just behind the disgraced nobleman.
"Your guilt is plain." Far said, "And your confession makes moot any question of evidence. You have betrayed your lord and your God. You know the penalties for treason."
Fang bowed obsequeously, touching his forehead to the floor in the expected manner. "I do."
"Then you know what to do." Far said, and he snapped his fingers. A man of his retinue stepped forward with an ornate box. Fang returned to his kneeling position and looked on, expecting the ritual sword from his quarters, but he couldn't see it- Far stood in the way.
"Lord Roland will guarantee things should you fail this one final task."
"Of course." Fang said, a hint of nerves creeping into his voice.
Fang turned about and threw the expected sword at Fang's feet. Fang's mask of calm fell away as he saw that the sword was a wooden training sword.
"Go on, we're waiting." Far said, sternly. Ramsey saw Far's way of dealing with double-talking tricksters.
"Where's my sword?" Far said, concerned.
"His Grace the Duke saw that your sword had broken, so he sent it away with the rest of your effects." Ramsey said, "I had my page's training sword brought in for this affair due to a lack of viable alternatives."
"It's made of wood!"
"Fang, you know that the truly determined will fall upon a sword of reeds, much less wood of this timber." Far said, and now his face showed that he saw that Fang had truly trapped himself.
Fang sighed, and reluctantly he made the ritual motion to pick up the sword. In that motion, his hands crossed at the wrists, and that motion did not go unnoticed. Fang opened his jacket, as expected, to bear his chest and abdomen and made ready to fall on that wooden sword.
The lights went out as he began that thrust. No sooner did they flicker than Ramsey drew his beam sword and slashed down at Fang, but the blow missed. Far also drew his sword, guessing Fang's move, but struck only the trainer. A hatch in the ceiling popped open, and a third beam sword lit up the room, revealing Fang's location. Yet before the Paladin and the Duke could take Fang two-on-one, the doors opened and Fang's men fired into the bridge forcing them and Far's men to take cover.
Fang ran around his enemies and escaped the bridge, once more leaving them in darkness. "Get the emergency lights on!" Far said.
"You're not getting off my ship as easily as you got on." Fang said over the intercom, "I've sealed and locked out the main bridge, and life support is soon to follow. Cut your way out and you'll be swarmed by my men until you're dead. Stay put and suffocate while you freeze solid. Take your pick, my lords."
Ramsey keyed into his comlink. "Sibley"
"Aye my lord." Sibley said, "I knew he'd pull something like this."
"Cripple the ship." Ramsey said, "Then patch His Grace through to the Marabu."
By now Far had a few of his men cutting down the door with beam swords while the rest stood ready with blaster pistols to face what lay on the other side. They felt, then heard, an explosion before Sibley got back on the line.
"That did it." Sibley said, "And you're patched in, Your Grace."
"Captain, this is the Duke. Prepare to repel boarders."
The Maribu's captain answered. "Yes, Your Grace. Proceeding as planned."
"As planned?" Ramsey said.
"You just turned his battleship into a space station, Lord Roland. Did you expect him to escape by stealing away with his personal mech?"
Ramsey sighed. "I did."
Now more explosions rocked the ship. "Not until his pride is soothed, and that means making you and I look weak and stupid."
The door fell to the floor, and Far's men threw smoke grenades into the hall beyond. Without a word, both noblemen followed the men into the corridor. Now in the lead, they headed for the Flight Deck- and Fang.
If you haven't noticed yet, there's plenty of giant robots in Galactic Christendom. As far as any outsider would say, this is a mecha property. It is also a Space Opera property; that's not a conflict in the least. (The Macross franchise at times approaches being a literal Space Opera, but instead sticks to idols and rock stars.) That means that the serial I'm doing here is a mecha story, and I am not being subtle about it.
The follow-up I'm plotting now ("The Taking of Countess Gabriella Robin") has plenty of giant robot combat, starting with a cunning raid on an innocent world in Galactic Christendom and culminating in a fleet battle on the enemy homeworld. Once more, I follow the motto of Mekton: Action, Romance, GIANT ROBOT COMBAT. Throw in massive starships slugging it out in orbit over exotic alien worlds, and you've got something you have to be John Scalzi to fuck up. (Even at his worst, Yoshiyuki Tomino delivered.)
There's going to be more over time. Now that I clearly see an opening, I'm going for it.
Eventually I'll have one of those easily-remembered three-word-titles for my franchise, something I'll need to figure out when I finish a manuscript and need to put together a cover and start a promotional hustle. The overall plan is to use multiple stories to bring a pile of characters on the stage before the big mashup begins and we start building towards the events of "The Ghost Fist Gambit".
So yeah, I'm in the arena. I'm on Solaris VII and ready to throw down.
And I'm not going to be shy about what my ingredients are, or why I'm drawing from those inspirations to make this thing happen.
The men in the Oni-class mecha laughed until their sensors blared a warning of an enemy unit suddenly appearing below. The laughter stopped, and one of them moved his unit to the edge to look down. He gasped, and he ran back from the ledge. Before the others could ask what he saw, they beheld the same sight.
Durandal, with its cockpit hatch open, rose out of the mile-deep pit. Standing in the open hatchway, arms folded under his chest and feet spread apart, stood Sir Ramsey. His face wore a mask of terrible resolve, and his eyes fixed upon them as if he could see into their wretched souls.
"This is Durandal, the Sword of Roland." Ramsey said, "I've seen what you can do with your mecha. Now you shall see what I can do with mine."
Ramsey stepped back into the cockpit and closed the hatch. The eyes on the unit's head flared as if awakening, and the four men in the Oni units felt a primal fear arise in them and fix them firmly. All they could do was watch as the gleaming silver-steel came out of the pit and landed before them.
"Come at me, curs!" Ramsay commanded, "Come at me if you want to live."
"Attack!" the man in the royal blue unit said, and the four of them rushed Ramsey with beam swords ignited. But they came at Ramsey in a panic, fear driving them to desperation and away from reason or control, and so they came at him in a manner that Ramsey readily exploited. He met the lead man, caught the man's attack with his free hand, and ran the man's unit in half at the waist. He kicked the first man at the second just before the first's unit exploded, severely damaging the second and blowing him to the ground. This let Ramsey turn about and block the third's attack, which he them slipped down the man's blade and severed the third man's sword arm off.
Ramsey turned to the blue unit. "I will leave you for last."
Ramsey then turned his beam sword into a reverse grip. As the third unit picked up the severed arm to use as a club, Ramsey took a step and stabbed that unit through-and-through the chest. As it fell over and exploded, Ramsey stalked towards the blue unit.
"Stay back!" the man said as he took up his best defensive stance, "I'm warning you!"
Ramsey beat away the beam sword. "Or what?
The man did not reply, so Ramsey held his sword at the unit's hatch. "Get out."
The man complied. He emerged from the blue unit with his hands up. "On the ground. Now."
As the man got down on the ground, on his knees, hands behind his head the Baden-Powell approached. It fired on the one remaining grey unit as it attempted to pull a sneak attack on Ramsey, destroying it.
"Typical!" Sibley said, "You left just one, and that one half-eaten."
"We have a prize, Sibley. Send down the lad to collect it. We may need it later. Send him down when you come to collect this man."
"Aye, Sir Ramsey." Sibley said, "So what now?"
Ramsey looked into the captive's eyes. "Verification."
I make no bones about where Galactic Christendom comes from. A lot of it is #StarWarsNotStarWars. A lot of it is classic anime from the Giant Robot and Space Opera franchises. But there's one part that I've not talked about yet: the Knightly Romance (and its modern offshoots).
"Paladin" is meant in its older sense, as used in the Matter of France, where the Paladins of Charlemange were His Majesty's close companions and go-to battle-brothers. This is why Ramsey's invocation of the phrase works; it's both intimidation and signalling that the galaxy's powers take the matter seriously, so they sent a Top Man to handle a situation that's about to explode.
Reading Arthurian literature, especially the early stuff, where it's more about Arthur and the boys being hardasses in war and at tournament, as well as the stories of Roland and the Romances spun from them (and related tales, like those of Robin Hood) all got poured into the pot to blend into this Space Opera stew.
It helps that's there's a lot of action, romance, and flashing sword combat (which nicely scales up to giant robot combat). While "Garmil's Gate" doesn't do the dames much (they'll show up soon), I've got a big ol' "Knight fights Monster for love of Princess" story in the works (tentatively, "The Taking of Countess Gabriella Robin"), and I would be a big fat liar if I didn't admit that these two films weren't big inspirations.
Oh, yeah, and some of this:
Why? Because Toshiro Mifune was one of the manilest men to ever grace the silver screen, and Kurosawa knew it. Being like one of Mifune's heroes is not at all an insult, so long as you execute well. That reminds me, John Woo's films also are a significant influence. You wouldn't think Hard Boiled would play into this, until you remember what "Heroic Bloodshed" means and that this film is one of the definitions of the term- itself a modernization of Chinese knightly tales, soured to taste.
Which means that Sir Ramsey is the sort of been-there-done that character who has no issues being who or what he is. He knows what he does is good, that whom he kills is bad, and princess worth a damn appreciate it when you risk life and limb to save them from the monsters- even if they don't marry you and live happily ever after with you.
And yes, there will be that sort of happy ending for Ramsey. But he's got to earn it, and making him do that will be quite the tale.
Sir Ramsey began a countdown in a corner of his helmet's viewscreen, letting him track the estimated arrival of the enemy as he went about preparing the courtyard for another battle. He pushed wrecked mecha and other vehicles into the breech of the outer wall, prepared traps using loose ordinance, and set up killzones where the enemy's numbers wouldn't benefit them. Once ready, with some minutes to spare, Ramsey got to the compound's media center and put himself on the comms.
He first opened a channel to directly connect to Solar Guard Headquarters on Earth.
"Priority Transmission to Palatine Hill from Garmil's Gate. Authorization: Sir Ramsey Hennipen, Seat of Roland."
The screen read back "Access Granted".
"Inform Court of Stars. Insurrection in progress. Lord Fang and Mining Master Iser in league with Red Eyes pirates. Iser slain. Lord Fang's location unknown. Gatewatch status unknown. Situation is in hand. Recommend Lord Fang's liege intervene."
The screen read back: "Cast in the name of God. Ye Not Guilty."
"Acknowledged. Sir Ramsey, over and out."
Then Sir Ramsey got on the channel used by the rebelling workers.
"This is Sir Ramsey Hennepin, Paladin of the Solar Guard. I hold the High Justice. Those that surrender shall receive mercy. Those that resist shall die condemned of heresy and treason."
Ramsey saw Dashing Jack's face appear before him. "If, Paladin. If you can enforce it. You are still just one man."
"I an not just one man, villain. I am never just one man. Observe--I know you are--and you shall see this first hand before you go to Hell."
"Indeed. Entertain me, Papal Puppet. Dance! Dance for my amusement."
The sounds of artillery fire blowing apart the improvised barricade prompted Ramsey to cut the comms. The timer ran out; and the enemy arrived right on time. As Ramsey ran to his first position, he saw in another window on his viewscreen a perspective from one of the working security cameras of rebel mecha and infantry rushing into the courtyard. He saw them stop after the first bomb exploded and took out the leading infantry platoon as well as the armed worker mecha they escorted.
By the time he got into position, the enemy cleared away their wrecked unit and swept clear what remained of the infantry. He put up a shoulder-fired missile launcher, took aim, and launched at the foremost unit. He didn't wait to see if he hit; he immediately tossed the launcher and ran back under cover. The return fire tore apart his former position while the impact on the leading unit stymied any attempt to track him long enough to thwart it.
"I can't move!" the unit's pilot said, confirmng Ramsey's hope of a mobility kill. As he got into his second position, where another launcher awaited him, he heard the order from the rebel commander: "Reduce the upper floors and force him to the ground." Ramsey smiled; someone there wasn't a complete moron. He fired his second missile, again running back under cover, and this time switching down to the ground floor. The enemy mecha fired upon the compound's buildings, leveling their upper floors, before sending infantry into the now-reduced remains aiming to force Ramsey into the open.
But this meant going into close quarters, where Ramsey again held the advantage, and he ambushed the first squad he found with beam sword and blaster. He erupted from a side room into a hallway, appearing in the middle of their single-file formation, cutting down one man while shooting a second in the chest with a double-tap technique. Caught unawares, they attempted to respond.
"You're not fast enough!" he declared as he cut and shot them down in their confusion.
Soon he flushed them out of the buildings and back into the courtyard, quivering in fear. Their leader emerged from on of the armed workers, and he shot one of them to get their attention.
"One! Man!"
Ramsey strode into view, standing in the doorway of what was the compound's main building- formerly Master Iser's headquarters. He took aim at the rebel commander with his blaster.
"Paladin!" Ramsey said, and shot the commander dead with a clean hit to the man's forehead.
The infantry broke and ran, fleeing before the golden-armored knight, only to to stop before the sight of a giant-sized man-like robot.
"Go on!" its pilot said, "We've got this."
Sir Ramsey let the rabble flee. Instead, he took notice of the mecha now arriving. These were the House Fang units, repainted black with red accents and red eyes. His viewscreen identified them as basic Oni-class models, though they had to have undergone some modification by now.
"Come out, Paladin. Let's see you fight against us."
"Don't be so hasty." Ramsey said as he took in the full view of the enemy mecha--both the new arrivals and the armed workers remaining--before him, "I will not deny your request, or to hear your regrets for making it."
Master Iser and Sir Ramsey clashed their beam swords together, crossing red-on-gold with sparks and discord.
"How does it feel, Master Iser? To get so far in your schemes, only to have someone come along who can tear it apart inside a day?"
Iser broke the clench and made a cut at Ramsey, which the Paladin easily blocked. "I wouldn't know. I've not had a scheme fail so far."
"You think you can turn this around?" Ramsay said as he hammered at Iser's guard, knocking the traitor off-balance and flailing to stay on his feet, "You have no idea how many times I've been in this exact situation, Iser."
"Oh," Iser said with a mocking gesture, "do tell."
"Fool!" Ramsay smashed aside Iser's blade. "I am 30 years old, and a Paladin of the Solar Guard. What does that tell you?"
"That you had friends shower you with prestige?"
Ramsey cut Iser's hands off, and then cut his beam sword in half. "Try again."
Iser stood there, looking at the cauterized stumps where his hands used to be. Ramsey didn't need to see Iser's face to know his mind at that moment.
"There, Iser, is your answer. When you reach Hell, go look up the other villains I'd sent there previously. They'll tell you just how wrong you were."
Ramsey's tone brought Iser back to the moment. "What do you mean, 'were'? Are you arresting me?"
"By right as Paladin of the Solar Guard, and confirmed by the Court of Stars, I hold the High Justice. You are condemned, Master Iser, for treason and heresy."
"Condemned? What idiocy is this?"
Ramsey shut off his blade, turned his back, and walked away. "You are already dead."
Iser, beneath his crimson helm, looked on astonished. "What?"
"Sibley." Ramsey said, ignoring the man, "What's the situation?"
"You can't be serious!" Iser said, disbelieving, when he attempted to step forward. His legs did not move, but his torso did and fell forward off his waist and hit the floor. The clang and thump of the now-lifeless corpse of the traitor Master Iser didn't so much as get Ramsey to look over his shoulder.
"The courtyard is clear of hostiles, Sir Ramsey, but heavier mecha and the main forces are on their way here from the elevator. They have it under their control."
"Nothing from Gatewatch?"
"Not a word. Something's wrong."
"The usual something, Sibley. Go with Creton and handle the elevator. I'll deal with the main force."
"They've got proper military-grade mecha in the main force along with more of their modified workers. You'll need more than your sword and blasters."
Ramsey reached into a boot sleeve and retrieved the baton that Creton gave to him previously. "Your boy made certain that I'd be ready for that scenario. Go on now. I'll be fine."
As Sir Ramsey made his way out from the hole in the wall and down into the courtyard, he saw in his faceplate a viewscreen from the perspective of the Baden-Powell: a squadron of mecha, backed by a company of rebelling workers on foot, rapidly converged on his location. Four of them seemed to be proper military models, resembling those stolen from a mothball facility run by House Fang several months ago.
"I see." Sir Ramsey said, "The matter is clear to me now. This treachery ends, here and now."
Sir Ramsey Hennepin and Sibley stood across an open room from Master Iser as the alarm klaxons sounded.
"That alarm is your workers rising in revolt against you, Master Iser." Sir Ramsey said, "They acquired arms and ordinance, and they are intent on seizing all ends of the Guild's operations here."
Master Iser looked out over the courtyard as the attack commenced on the gate to the Guild's compound. "And what, Sir Ramsey, shall you do about it?"
"Let your men handle it. This is, after all, a Guild matter. Do you not agree, Master Iser, or have your superiors in the Guild mislead me? We are but guests, as you are keen to remind us, fulfilling a courtesy requested of the Guild by the Court of Stars."
Iser watched the revolting miners blow the gate down and massacre his men manning its defenses. Now pouring forth into the Guild's compound, the miners poured forth fire from men and machine alike indiscriminately into anything that wasn't themselves. The screams of the slain reached far up to where Iser stood without need of amplification.
Sir Ramsey kept his eyes on Iser, but Sibley scanned the room around them. The elder warrior caught sight of several of Iser's men quietly coming in and moving around them.
"Your guards seem to be handling such an event as well as expected." Sir Ramsay said, "Don't you agree, Master Iser?"
The armed worker mecha made quick work of the powered armor troops deployed against them, and the infantry then stormed the buildings where more fire echoed forth followed by the screams of the dead and dying and explosions as hand grenades and stolen mining explosives broke open hardened portals.
Master Iser turned away from the scene below to face Sir Ramsey. "I do, Paladin."
Sir Ramsey saw Iser's hands drop to the man's sides, and he put his own to his hips. "What did Red Eyes offer you?"
"What the Guild never delivered upon: power." Iser said, and a beam sword hilt fell out of the man's sleeve into his fighting hand. "Power, and moreso than that, respect."
Sir Ramsey glanced at Sibley, who nodded in response. "I see, Master Iser. So this revolt is yours then? No wonder you wished us gone."
Bright red lines of light now appeared about Master Iser, drawing into place a suit of form-fitting armor. "And go you shall, Paladin." The light outline solidified into a complete armored shell, a pair of red eyes flashed out the visor slit, and Iser's beam sword ignited with a brilliant red blade.
Sibley and Ramsey noticed the men about them follow their master's lead. Now a dozen red-armored men with red beam swords surrounded them. Sibley and Ramsey reached down to their sword belts, drew their own beam swords, and activated their own armored suits: shining golden shells, with Ramsey's emblazoned with his heraldry, and ignited their sun-golden swords.
"Six to one, Sibley." Ramsey said, "I am flattered."
"I'm disappointed, sir. I thought it'd be at least 20 to one by now."
Iser strode forward and thrust his blade at Ramsey. "Enough talk! Guards, kill them!"
Sir Ramsey and Sibley entered the office of the Mining Guild's master at Garmil's Gate, Master Miner Reed Iser. Aside from the crest of the guild, it was a plain--almost austere--room not unlike that of the monks of the many monastic military orders of the Church. The man sat behind a thick desk made from the native woods here. He stood up as the men entered.
"Welcome to Garmil's Gate, Sir Ramsey."
"Thank you, Master Iser." Sir Ramsy said, "This is my Sergeant-at-Arms, Sibley. He'll be accompanying me."
Iser eyed Sibley with a contemptuous look. "As you wish, Sir Ramsey." he said, and Iser walked out of the room. "Follow me. We shall begin the tour immediately."
Sibley leaned in to whisper as they turned to follow. "This will not end well."
"Have Creton at the controls and tell him to stand by." Sir Ramsey whispered, "Our presence will spark an explosion, forcing the schemes to come out against us."
The three of them walked down the hall and towards the storehouse. "My mandate is to keep production going. This sector of the galaxy relies heavily on the raw ore mined here, as the concentration of rare elements required in vital technologies is greater than in many other worlds held by House Far and its vassals."
Outside, worker mecha move massive containers of ore from the vast open pit into bulk freight modules for lifting into orbit via the beanstalk elevator several miles away.
"The reports also mention the working conditions here." Sir Ramsay said, "To the point where they are listed as 'consumables'."
"The Guild struck contracts generations ago to take condemned men and employ them as laborers for the duration of their sentence. It is not surprising to find criminals chafing at their shackles."
"Yet a criminal is intended to complete his sentence. That is why wardens punish prisoners who do violence to others, and by such agreements the Guild becomes the warden for these prisoners."
Sibley kept his eyes looking about them as they followed Master Iser. The security presence thinned as they left the Administration area and into the working spaces outside. He leaned in. "We are surely being lead into a trap."
"Agreed." Sir Ramsay said, whispering, "Let's reverse this game."
"Let's leave the details of this situation for after we escape." Sibley said as he continued to look about them, "I think that our enemies will make their intentions and objectives clear once they come for our lives."
Creton sat ready at the controls of the Baden-Powell when he saw an alert come up on the viewscreen. he punched it up, and the screen showed a massive convoy of worker mecha with men riding atop coming out from the mine pit and advancing on the Guild's complex. Soon some of them split off to the elevator.
"Father said I should watch for a surprise attack." Creton said, talking to himself and he zoomed in on the convoy. The men, attired as workers, had weapons--rifles--in hand and the mecha had cannons and rockets bolted on to their frames. "I think that's an attack coming."
Creaton pushed the alert to his father and Sir Ramsey, and began takeoff procedures. "Father was right, again."
Mankind is now a mature inter-stellsr species. Its many nations are spread out across the galaxy, dwelling on many planets, and in populations that make the pre-Apocalypse world before the Azure Flames blanch. Mankind now teems in number, totally into the trillions, with many planets boasting populations well above that of early 21st century Earth. Much of this is due to the influence of the Church, and the advent of Faster Than Light technology, the coupling of which gave great impetus (in addition to a literal Crusade against the Nephalim) to spread far from holy Terra.
The initial settlement waves focused on Earth-like worlds. As terraforming technologies and acumen developed, more worlds saw settlement; the last wave coming with the ability to change the gravitation force of a planet to conform to Earth standard gravity, a power still monopolized by the Church as it required the direct deployment from the City of God. Now only the most inhospitable of planets remain free of Mankind's presence, assuming that it has been found at all.
Planetary settlement starts and ends in orbit. The pattern is summarized thus: build an orbital habitat, which is the top anchor of a space elevator to the surface. The groundside anchor is the first planetside settlement, and others branch out from that one to fulfill specific requirements. Over time, additional elevator nodes are built to allow speedy ground-to-orbit connections across a world. (Earth has one at each LaGrange point.)
Heavy industry is an orbital affair, taking advantage of microgravity conditions to maximize productivity while preserving the planetary environment. Refineries, factories, shipyards, and more such industry is routinely kept in orbit- and also automated heavily. Planetside work is more artisan or agricultural in nature, with automation usually confined to drudgery, in accordance to the Church's push for restoring Mankind to a pro-Civilizational mode of existence post-Apocalypse.
Urban planning and density, to pre-Apocalypse eyes, is pre-Modern in sensibilities; far less steel, iron, and chrome and far more stone, wood, and glass. Older, classical styles turned out to be easier to use in forming and maintaining planetside colonies than the writers and theories of the World Before would think. Commerce tends to be more local, though inter-planetary and inter-stellar trade exists in significant amounts across galactic distances. Aside from the obvious high technology, it's a world a man like Plato or Petrarch would not find too alien - but those just at the cusp of the Apocalypse would in many respects. (Think "Pre-Modern Life with Starships and Mecha", or less Coruscant and more Theed.)
Most people, once more, living in rural communities on more-or-less self-sufficient homesteads centered around the local parish and the local manor. Even the orbital habitats follow this pattern as best they can, recreating the village life in space even if the men of that village work in the habitat's docks or factories. Furthermore, mature planets have scores of orbital habitats clustered about that world's LaGrange points.
The less-developed worlds are marked by a lack of the orbit-to-surface connections, usually meaning more shuttle traffic to and from as well as the presence of more trans-atmospheric starship traffic to compensate for that lack. Garmil's Gate is one such world, and this lacking is why some disdain it.
Next time: The Apocalypse, the Church, and the City of God.
I've said for some years now that I have no hate for authors who take on work-for-hire contracts to write tie-in novels for popular properties. Some folks I first knew as tabletop RPG people used that opportunity to build up the skills and personal brand needed to successfully transition to selling their original works (because we can't all be Scott "My editor discovered me by reading my Livejournal." Lynch), such as Jeff Grubb- and similarly, I first read Mike Stackpole and R.A. Salvatore through their gaming tie-ins (BattleTech and Forgotten Realms, respectively).
Timothy Zahn? First encountered him when he wrote Heir to the Empire, and gave us the glory that is Grand Admiral Thrawn about 25 years ago. (Never been a big reader of the tie-ins for Star Wars, but I'm familiar with the now-disavowed corpus that was the Expanded Universe due its ties to--and outgrowth from--the original West End Games version of the RPG.) So making tie-ins didn't hurt him, and there is one big reason why it worked: Zahn's tie-ins were faithful, fun, and satisfying reads that franchise fans wanted.
So yeah, you can't just half-ass it and expect things to be golden. You have bosses--and I don't mean the readers--and they have a brand to protect (if they are at all competent), so there's homework to do and meta-narrative concerns to satisfy in addition to just writing a good story, but so long as you can be a team player as well as a good storyteller these tie-ins can help cover two ongoing concerns: making a living, and building your personal brand.
Yes, you should take all the precautions that you would for any other contract offer, and you had damn well be ready and able to walk if that offer doesn't measure up, but if you get a decent deal and your alternative action plan isn't going to give you better results during that same time and resources spent, why not? What you learn therein you can--and should--apply to putting out your own original works.
(Lucasfilm, start using your position to find new talent and break them out writing tie-ins. Your go-tos are not helping with the SJW bullshit they're slipping in, and that also means you have some serious rot in your offices because they aren't doing their job of keep that out.)
The publishing game changed a lot over the past year. The old certainties are no more. The new possibilities are still making themselves known to most people, but I think we're reaching a critical mass of adoption for both writers and readers and next year will be when the jump off hits and there is no going back.
I intend to be ready. Shit I've sat on this year (for one reason or another) I want done and out, now that things I've been missing got found and put into place, and that means that when the manuscripts are ready I'll be looking for help on things I can't do myself (covers in particular) as I'm able to keep my head above water.
But right now it's Christmas. I'm going to enjoy the season, and then New Year's, and once the holidays are over and 2017 is here then it'll be time for putting plans into action.
This got cut from the revision of the Solador story because it is not directly relevant to the protagonist's story; this is something that the deuteragonist does to aide the protagonist in the climax of the story. Rather than let it rot, as it were, I'm going to post it here. The scene's intention was to demonstrate that the deuteragonist's organization--the Hidden City--has at its disposal more than just some well-trained agents and access to a pre-Cataclysm network infrastructure. However, without a series to build this out it becomes irrelevant to the story.
"Master Control, this is Agent Johnathan. I am at the resolution zone."
In his ear, John heard Master Control respond: "This is Master Control. We see you. Proceed."
John activated his holographic overlay, allowing him to see where to-be-resolved objects could be readily placed. His eyes quickly scanned for, and found, the Gate icon and placed it partially submerged into the waters of the Sound. With a gesture, he initiated the resolution protocol for the gate.
A flash flicked before him and spread out into a wireframe outline of a circular design. Two-thirds of its diameter stood out of the water, dwarfing John who stood well away from it with his eyes fixed forward and his body stiff as he concentrated on each element of the resolution protocol in turn. First the skeletal frame, and then key power components and conduits. Sinks, inputs, outputs, all drawn in step by step as if he coded it in a design program. Finally, the outer shell and its finish. Then back again, layer by layer, he make the framework solid and materialized each part into existence.
The glowing, pulsing, floating man-sized (and think) crystals on either side of the gate now linked up to it and brought it full to life with a loud pop and enough light to be a beacon to craft far out over the waters. With that, John dropped to his knees, exhausted: "Resolution. Complete.
"Stand by, Agent Johnathan. We're sending it through now."
John looked up, breathing deep as he got to his feet. He saw the gate light up, and a whoosh of air come forth as the gate's interior became a wall of white light. He heard the hum of such great energy being poured into the gate- something big now resolved into the Outer World. As he saw the bow of a ship, come forth, and then the first three-gun turret, and then the second, and then secondary turrets, and then the control tower, and a third three-gun turret on the stern, and the aft come crashing through as if exiting a dry dock he knew what he beheld.
"The Yamato!" John said in a gasp.
"Agent Johnathan, this is Master Control. Your request is granted. Good luck, and good hunting."
Note: this is not the I.J.N. Yamato of World War 2. This is the entirely fictional Yamato of Space Battleship Yamato. So those turrets have Shock Cannons, there is a fighter wing aboard, it can fly, and you're damn right that the Wave Motion Gun is on that thing. Why does John put in a request for it? Because the protagonist--William--is going up against The Archmage and the Exalted directly, and John alone is not enough to even the odds, so John calls in backup. The entire point of this ship's appearance is to force the opposition to have to split their attention and thus their forces.
So, rather than go on about it--since the story follows William and not John--I find a good reason to keep cut-aways from William to just those few that are nonetheless about William's story directly. This? This is not; it's there for a meta-narrative, and therefore can be cut here to maintain narrative focus.
As for what the Yamato is there to do, it's something like this episode from the recent 2199 remake (which is really good and you should see it):
