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11 OCtober, 4501

Merc Doods 3: The Merckening

by Captain Peter Avignon

October 11, 4501
Planet: Scientia
System: Scientia
 
They hit us just after local dawn. From my vantage point atop the facility’s admin block, I had a panoramic view of the chaos. Ion—dubbed “Ion-Ion” by a relentlessly cheeky Lucid—was on the laser turret. Below, Vex and Isac were dug into a drainage ditch, gauss rifles steady. Beñat, Dix, Urdush, and Alana formed the outer perimeter, scattered behind cargo containers and low walls. Castor, ever the light sleeper, had joined us unbidden. I wonder what the Fracan Naval Academy graduate thinks of his new callsign.
 
We had three layers of cover before the facility itself would be exposed. I’d borrowed Arkip’s old ion rifle and taken position 500 feet back—far enough for a sight picture, close enough to feel the concussions.
 
It started with a shriek of overstressed armor. Beñat’s first shot against a plasma cannon-wielding heavy barely seemed to register. The attacker was hopped on something fierce—combat stims, by the look of it. Dix and Urdush took Gatling laser fire in return; Jin’s follow-up punch finally cracked the gunner’s armor.
 
Then it became a brawl.
 
Isac dropped one of the lighter-armored pirates sprinting for their vehicles. Ihero—ex-pirate boarder himself—yelled, “Time to drop these varmints!” and leveled his shotgun. Missed. Castor tried to use his psionics to short the plasma cannon’s power cell—no luck. The thing was sealed like a vault. Dix took a hit and started bleeding. Alana dove for cover. Vex, a seven-tour veteran from the Bolivar meat-grinder, coolly dropped another attacker. But then a plasma blast from a vehicle-mounted cannon caught him square. He went down hard—without immediate aid, he’d be gone.
 
I lined up the ion rifle on the Gatling gunner. He dodged. Ion-Ion’s laser turret shot went wide, slagging a storage shed instead of the target vehicle. Then Beñat did what Beñat does. He put a gauss round straight into the plasma cannon’s reactor. The resulting explosion tore the heavy apart—but not before the bastard lobbed the unstable core our way. The building facade took the hit, but the shockwave rattled teeth. That’s when the hammer-bro closed in—a mountain in battle dress, swinging a maul the size of a small tree. He smacked Beñat hard. Alana’s shot ricocheted off his armor. The Gatling gunner hosed Dix’s position, and Jin returned fire, finally punching through.
 
Isac kept missing. Urdush stayed deep in cover, bleeding and ineffective. Then Ion-Ion found his mark. The laser turret blew one vehicle—then another—sky-high. Three pirates vanished in the fireball. I missed my shot at the hammer-bro. Mei finally emerged, hefting her “portable war-crimes launcher.” One shot turned the Gatling gunner into pink mist. The remaining raiders broke and ran. Castor mag-dumped into the hammer-bro, who stood his ground, stimmed to the gills. Beñat patched Vex back from the brink. We’re calling it a win, but it was a bloody one.
 
We lost Ihero in the fight. Good kid. Former pirate trying to go straight. Vex is stable, but in critical condition—Beñat’s field medicine kept him breathing.
 
They weren’t just pirates. Jin combed through the battlefield debris and sliced into a damaged comms unit. The intel was clear: two groups, one plan. The “Space Kings” mercenary band provided the numbers and light infantry, while the “Red Queen”—an elite pirate unit—supplied the heavies and the tactical direction. Their objective wasn’t just harassment; they wanted to capture or destroy the ships being built here. This was a deliberate, coordinated assault.
 
Astrid is also down, recovering from her wounds. The facility took a beating—production is set back by 12 hours. We have 36 hours until the client’s ship is complete.
 
Beñat, ever the rock, has patched himself up completely and got Dix and Urdush back on their feet. He also made it abundantly clear—in that special, grumpy Beñat way—that not having a proper medbay on-site is a liability we can no longer afford.
 
I spent the evening scrolling through weapons catalogs. A laser sniper rifle is now at the top of my list. Next time someone in battle dress wants to play hammer time, I want to be able to reach out from a kilometre away and politely decline the invitation.
 
We salvaged the heavies’ battle dress. It’s scrap, really—costs as much to repair as to replace—but we loaded it anyway. Old habits die hard. The ground assault may be over for now, but the spaceborn operation remains untouched. They’ll be back. And next time, they might not be so kind as to land first.
 
We’re taking the Harrier up to recon the system. If the Red Queen wants to play, we’ll meet them in the dark.
 
— *Captain Peter Avignon*
*SS Good Times II*
*“Victory is just survival with extra steps.”*
 
[Addendum: Note to Lucid—next time you name someone “Ion-Ion,” make sure they can’t overhear you. The glare could melt hull plating.]

Continue reading...

  1. Bringing the Fight to Them
  2. Personal Log - New Year, New Shipping Codes
    2nd of January, 4500
  3. Lots of Dead Bodies
    2nd of January, 4500
  4. Personal Log
    9th of January, 4500
  5. Personal Log: Ship Upgrades on Mehen
    10th of January, 4500
  6. Personal Log: The Kumarbi Conspiracy
    17th of January, 4500
  7. Heading into the Unknown
    28th January 4500
  8. The Expedition Begins
    18th of February, 4500
  9. Faxi
  10. Eldanea System + Pariahan Fronts
    4th of March, 4500
  11. Against the Solanian Survey Corp
    18th of March, 4500
  12. Obligatory Water Level
    20th of March, 4500 CE
  13. Aidan Thorpe Arrested
    8th of April, 4500
  14. Leunus Prime
    15th of April, 4500 CE
  15. Impounded on Catta Primae
    25th of April, 4500 CE
  16. Captain's Log: Communications officer detained
    7th of June, 4500 CE
  17. next steps
    14 June 4500
  18. the Mistake (the Planet)
    21st of June, 4500
  19. Licking our wounds in Wild Space
    18 September, 4500
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    5 October 4500
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    19th of November, 4500
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  23. Extra-judicial shipping in the Union of Sol
    7 December, 4500
  24. Derelict space Station - Shiva Rao
    11th December, 4500
  25. Welcome to the Aseni Republic of Vega
    16th of December, 4500
  26. Returning with the spoils of salvage
    11th of January 4501
  27. Fancy Auction
  28. Peter joins the Military-Industrial Complex
  29. Operation Murder Galvao [TOP SECRET]
    9th of April, 4501
  30. I'm at Soup
  31. Taking down Galvao
    18th of April, 4501
  32. Xin Heinan Occupied
    May 6th, 4501
  33. THIS MAIL RUN WENT FULL CHAOS MODE! (GONE WRONG? GONE SEXUAL? GONE CLASSIFIED?!) [NOT CLICKBAIT] [100% LEGIT]
    14 May 4501
  34. Save us, Aidan
    16th of May, 4501
  35. Making the Trek to the Jred Frontier, pt 1
    19th of May, 4501
  36. Guerilla Journalism
    20th of May, 4501 CE
  37. Water Crisis on Actium
    12 June 4501
  38. Just your typical vaporator delivery
    13 June 4501
  39. VapeTech® Infiltration: Operation "Clawed Opportunity"
    15 June, 4501 CE
  40. Veii vs VapeTech®
    16 June, 4501 CE
  41. Killer Robot v. Big Bomb
  42. Onwards, to Jred Space!
    26 August, 4501 CE
  43. Arrival on Midgard
    2nd of September, 4501 CE
  44. Jackpot! Lots of ships!
    3 September, 4501
  45. Upgrades, people. Upgrades.
    24th of September, 4501
  46. Merc Doods
    10th October, 4501
  47. Merc Doods 2
    11 October 4501
  48. Merc Doods 3: The Merckening
    11 OCtober, 4501

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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.045 © 2017-2025 [en] | Anvil Time: 04:44, Dec 20 2025