Titans of Apollo
folder
Original - Misc › Science Fiction
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
1,047
Reviews:
0
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Original - Misc › Science Fiction
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
2
Views:
1,047
Reviews:
0
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.
Weapons of War
Titans of Apollo
Chapter 2: Weapons of War
Mount Olympus
Olympus Federation
Apollo
3296 (local calendar)
McNamara stood in silence as he examined the Titan: the outer hull was seamless, something he had never seen on a Titan before. The right arm ended with the barrel of a large weapon where its wrist should be, and a large device of own known use was attached to the lower forearm. The left arm ended in a massive battle fist, the end of a retractable war blade just poking out of its armoured cowl. Four smaller gun barrels poked out of each shoulder in a diamond formation. Further down, where the abdomen would be on a human, were twin missile tubes, the armoured flaps that would normally protect them open so a team of technicians could work on the internal systems.
The head was something else entirely: someone, somewhere, had obviously done their best to make it look as realistic as possible. The armour plating had been moulded to resemble the helmet of a hoplite, with long panels of armour hanging down from the brow, similar to the crest on the flag of the Olympus Federation. The thick crest that ran from the forehead to the bottom of the neck served both a practical and decorative purpose, as it contained the long range sensor and communication systems.
A large section of the head around the right rear had been pulled out on a set of retracting hinges, allowing the cockpit assembly to be pulled out, and another team of tech’s were running diagnostic on the two padded chairs inside.
“Duel cockpit.” McNamara rubbed his chin, “Now doesn’t that just beat it all.”
“Although rare, duel operator designs were more effective.” Ling stood beside him, “The operations officer in the second seat could monitor communications and long-range sensors, freeing the pilot to concentrate on fighting.”
“Yeah, I know how it works. I also know you need two people who trust each other totally and can predict what the other is going to do. And that’s not something you can teach.”
“I’ve completed the basic piloting program, but like I said earlier, we need you to act as an instructor...”
“You said you were the only volunteer to survive the operations needed to embed the neural implants, right?”
“That is correct.”
“An operations officer needs the same neural implants: they also act as a back up in case anything happens to the pilot.”
“I don’t follow.” Ling looked confused.
“Name the only two people in the entire Federation who have working neural implants.”
“Well that would be...” Ling looked at McNamara, and her eyes went wide, “Oh!”
“Yeah: you and me sweetheart, you and me.” McNamara shook his head, “God damn Eddie McGraw: that conceited son of a bitch suckered me right in!”
“I’m sure that’s not what the General had in mind.”
“You got a first name, Doc?”
“Jade.”
“Ok Jade let me tell you something about General Edward McGraw: he’s a two-faced, double dealing, conniving, deceitful, untrustworthy serpent of a man. I wouldn’t trust him if he told me the sky was blue or water is wet!”
“Captain, I’m sure that...”
“I think that you can call me Stephan, as we’re going to be spending so much time together.”
“Very well, Stephan: I’ve spent the last two years working with General McGraw, and I trust him.”
“So did I; once upon a time.” McNamara walked towards the titan, “You’d better start telling me the truth: there’s no way in Hades that this is something you patched together from parts.”
“You’re right.” Ling followed on behind, “That’s just the cover story we use when we’re in an unsecured location: we can’t risk another nation learning the truth, in case they start a war before we’re ready.”
“Makes some sense, I’ll give you that. What’s the true story?”
“We found it buried under a pile of rubble while excavating part of the base that has been sealed off since The Fall. I was a member of the team; finding it was... I can’t think of the words.”
“Yeah, they have that affect the first time you see them. What’s she packing weapons wise?”
“The main gun is the right-arm mounted focused particle cannon. Don’t ask me what that means; my doctorate’s in history, but the tech boys seem interested in it.”
“Those guys need to get out more.”
“I’d have to agree. Anyway, the cannon used a lot of power, so there are two modes of fire. The first is burst fire, which uses a bank of capacitors to build up the required charge over a few minutes. Option two draws power directly from the reactor. This gives you a more powerful, continues beam, but it draws so much power that you lose all other offensive and defensive systems.”
“Defensive systems? It’s packing ECM?”
“We don’t know for sure: the reactor was cold when we found it, so all data in the computer had been lost. We can’t activate all the systems until we’ve fully powered it up. We re-installed the operating system and operations software from the files we have from our old Titans. He can be a little temperamental, but we’re getting there.”
“He? Most pilots referred to their Titan’s as She’s back in the war.”
“Most pilots back then where men.”
“True. Anyway, what else does ‘he’ have weapons wise?”
“Well, you can see the retractable war-blade: the core is made of exhausted uranium, coated in hardened steel and Kevlar. The outer layer is a double edged blade made of a titanium/aluminium alloy. Micro emitters placed between the Kevlar and the outer layer makes it vibrate at hyper-sonic speed, allowing it to cut through almost anything.”
“Nasty.”
“Indeed. The shoulder weapons mounts each contain two Autocannons and two rapid-fire pulse lasers. The Autocannons are for anti-infantry and point-defence, while the pulse lasers should deal with most armour and aircraft.”
“If we’ve got them, what do we need the war-blade and main cannon for?”
“Anything a damn site bigger!” A new voice called out, “Knew it was only a matter of time before they dragged your sorry ass back.”
“Son-of-a...” McNamara span round, coming face to face with a dark-skinned man with greying heir and beard, “CJ Templeton!”
“Sure is good to see you again, Boss-Man.” Templeton gave a lazy salute, “It’s been way to long.”
“You old pirate.” McNamara returned the salute, and then pulled the other man into a bear-hug, “What you been doing?”
“Keeping busy, keeping busy: they had me working in the quartermasters’ office until they found our little friend over there.” Templeton gestured to the Titan, “Then all of a sudden they needed people who know how to keep a Titan running: book-smart is nothing compared to experience.”
“Son of a gun.” McNamara smiled, looking at Ling, “CJ was my crew-chief during the war: I swear to Zeus, I’d be dead a dozen times over if not for the miracles he could pull out of his bag of tricks.”
“Hey man; have you been to see the General yet?” Templeton asked, suddenly serious.
“No, we’re just on our way now.” Ling looked apprehensive, “Captain McNamara, my apologies; Stephan, is a little apprehensive.”
“You think he’s forgotten?” McNamara looked at Templeton hopefully.
“About Liz?” The other man shook his head solemnly, “Not in this lifetime.”
“Figures.” McNamara shook his head as he headed for the nearest door, “Oh well, better not keep the General waiting.”
“Who’s Liz?” Ling asked as she followed behind.
“Long story.” McNamara looked round, “Look, it’s been a while since I was last here; you want to lead the way.”
“This way.” The young woman led the way down a corridor to an elevator. She swiped her pass over the sensor and the doors opened, “Who’s Liz?”
“Told you: long story.”
“If we’re going to work together, we need to trust each other, and I need to know if there’s going to be any tension between you and the General.”
“Liz is, was, Elisabeth McGraw; Edie McGraw’s younger sister.”
“What happened?”
“She died, long time ago now.”
“How?”
“Look, Jade, you seem like a nice enough person and I’m sure that in time we’ll be just great friends and all, but this is not a subject I like to talk about with anyone. It’s nothing personal: it just brings up too many bad memories.”
“And this is the reason that you and General McGraw don’t like each other.”
“I never said I don’t like General McGraw: he was like a brother to me, back in the day. But sometimes things happen that change people.”
“And this something that happened, happened to the General’s sister?”
“What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ do you have trouble with?”
“Just curios.”
“Yeah, well, curiosity killed the cat.”
“I’m just having trouble understanding the situation: I’ve known General McGraw for two years, and he’s never mentioned a sister, living or dead. He didn’t even mention your name until we reached the point of needed a qualified instructor.”
“That’s probably because the last time we were in the same room, he knocked out two of my teeth: I had to have them re-seeded, and that hurts like hell. I can’t complain too much: did break his jaw.”
“You broke the General’s jaw?” Ling stepped out of the elevator as the doors finally opened; leading the way down a grey and utilitarian corridor, “No wonder he never mentioned you before.”
“No; that’ll still be about Liz.” McNamara straightened his shirt: wishing he’d had time to grab something more presentable out of his wardrobe before leaving his apartment, “It’s always about Liz.”
“We’ll see. Ling stopped outside an unmarked door and opened it into a small outer-office. Two uniformed and armed guards stood by another door off to one side, opposite a desk.
“Hello, Dr Ling.” The young man behind the desk stood when he saw them, “I take it that this is Captain McNamara?”
“No.” McNamara shook his head, “Just plain old Mr McNamara.”
“As you wish.” The sectary nodded, “The General is expecting you.”
“Thank you, Travis.” Ling nodded, before heading towards the other door. She knocked twice, before looking over her shoulder as she started to turn the handle, “Now play nice...”
To be continued...
Chapter 2: Weapons of War
Mount Olympus
Olympus Federation
Apollo
3296 (local calendar)
McNamara stood in silence as he examined the Titan: the outer hull was seamless, something he had never seen on a Titan before. The right arm ended with the barrel of a large weapon where its wrist should be, and a large device of own known use was attached to the lower forearm. The left arm ended in a massive battle fist, the end of a retractable war blade just poking out of its armoured cowl. Four smaller gun barrels poked out of each shoulder in a diamond formation. Further down, where the abdomen would be on a human, were twin missile tubes, the armoured flaps that would normally protect them open so a team of technicians could work on the internal systems.
The head was something else entirely: someone, somewhere, had obviously done their best to make it look as realistic as possible. The armour plating had been moulded to resemble the helmet of a hoplite, with long panels of armour hanging down from the brow, similar to the crest on the flag of the Olympus Federation. The thick crest that ran from the forehead to the bottom of the neck served both a practical and decorative purpose, as it contained the long range sensor and communication systems.
A large section of the head around the right rear had been pulled out on a set of retracting hinges, allowing the cockpit assembly to be pulled out, and another team of tech’s were running diagnostic on the two padded chairs inside.
“Duel cockpit.” McNamara rubbed his chin, “Now doesn’t that just beat it all.”
“Although rare, duel operator designs were more effective.” Ling stood beside him, “The operations officer in the second seat could monitor communications and long-range sensors, freeing the pilot to concentrate on fighting.”
“Yeah, I know how it works. I also know you need two people who trust each other totally and can predict what the other is going to do. And that’s not something you can teach.”
“I’ve completed the basic piloting program, but like I said earlier, we need you to act as an instructor...”
“You said you were the only volunteer to survive the operations needed to embed the neural implants, right?”
“That is correct.”
“An operations officer needs the same neural implants: they also act as a back up in case anything happens to the pilot.”
“I don’t follow.” Ling looked confused.
“Name the only two people in the entire Federation who have working neural implants.”
“Well that would be...” Ling looked at McNamara, and her eyes went wide, “Oh!”
“Yeah: you and me sweetheart, you and me.” McNamara shook his head, “God damn Eddie McGraw: that conceited son of a bitch suckered me right in!”
“I’m sure that’s not what the General had in mind.”
“You got a first name, Doc?”
“Jade.”
“Ok Jade let me tell you something about General Edward McGraw: he’s a two-faced, double dealing, conniving, deceitful, untrustworthy serpent of a man. I wouldn’t trust him if he told me the sky was blue or water is wet!”
“Captain, I’m sure that...”
“I think that you can call me Stephan, as we’re going to be spending so much time together.”
“Very well, Stephan: I’ve spent the last two years working with General McGraw, and I trust him.”
“So did I; once upon a time.” McNamara walked towards the titan, “You’d better start telling me the truth: there’s no way in Hades that this is something you patched together from parts.”
“You’re right.” Ling followed on behind, “That’s just the cover story we use when we’re in an unsecured location: we can’t risk another nation learning the truth, in case they start a war before we’re ready.”
“Makes some sense, I’ll give you that. What’s the true story?”
“We found it buried under a pile of rubble while excavating part of the base that has been sealed off since The Fall. I was a member of the team; finding it was... I can’t think of the words.”
“Yeah, they have that affect the first time you see them. What’s she packing weapons wise?”
“The main gun is the right-arm mounted focused particle cannon. Don’t ask me what that means; my doctorate’s in history, but the tech boys seem interested in it.”
“Those guys need to get out more.”
“I’d have to agree. Anyway, the cannon used a lot of power, so there are two modes of fire. The first is burst fire, which uses a bank of capacitors to build up the required charge over a few minutes. Option two draws power directly from the reactor. This gives you a more powerful, continues beam, but it draws so much power that you lose all other offensive and defensive systems.”
“Defensive systems? It’s packing ECM?”
“We don’t know for sure: the reactor was cold when we found it, so all data in the computer had been lost. We can’t activate all the systems until we’ve fully powered it up. We re-installed the operating system and operations software from the files we have from our old Titans. He can be a little temperamental, but we’re getting there.”
“He? Most pilots referred to their Titan’s as She’s back in the war.”
“Most pilots back then where men.”
“True. Anyway, what else does ‘he’ have weapons wise?”
“Well, you can see the retractable war-blade: the core is made of exhausted uranium, coated in hardened steel and Kevlar. The outer layer is a double edged blade made of a titanium/aluminium alloy. Micro emitters placed between the Kevlar and the outer layer makes it vibrate at hyper-sonic speed, allowing it to cut through almost anything.”
“Nasty.”
“Indeed. The shoulder weapons mounts each contain two Autocannons and two rapid-fire pulse lasers. The Autocannons are for anti-infantry and point-defence, while the pulse lasers should deal with most armour and aircraft.”
“If we’ve got them, what do we need the war-blade and main cannon for?”
“Anything a damn site bigger!” A new voice called out, “Knew it was only a matter of time before they dragged your sorry ass back.”
“Son-of-a...” McNamara span round, coming face to face with a dark-skinned man with greying heir and beard, “CJ Templeton!”
“Sure is good to see you again, Boss-Man.” Templeton gave a lazy salute, “It’s been way to long.”
“You old pirate.” McNamara returned the salute, and then pulled the other man into a bear-hug, “What you been doing?”
“Keeping busy, keeping busy: they had me working in the quartermasters’ office until they found our little friend over there.” Templeton gestured to the Titan, “Then all of a sudden they needed people who know how to keep a Titan running: book-smart is nothing compared to experience.”
“Son of a gun.” McNamara smiled, looking at Ling, “CJ was my crew-chief during the war: I swear to Zeus, I’d be dead a dozen times over if not for the miracles he could pull out of his bag of tricks.”
“Hey man; have you been to see the General yet?” Templeton asked, suddenly serious.
“No, we’re just on our way now.” Ling looked apprehensive, “Captain McNamara, my apologies; Stephan, is a little apprehensive.”
“You think he’s forgotten?” McNamara looked at Templeton hopefully.
“About Liz?” The other man shook his head solemnly, “Not in this lifetime.”
“Figures.” McNamara shook his head as he headed for the nearest door, “Oh well, better not keep the General waiting.”
“Who’s Liz?” Ling asked as she followed behind.
“Long story.” McNamara looked round, “Look, it’s been a while since I was last here; you want to lead the way.”
“This way.” The young woman led the way down a corridor to an elevator. She swiped her pass over the sensor and the doors opened, “Who’s Liz?”
“Told you: long story.”
“If we’re going to work together, we need to trust each other, and I need to know if there’s going to be any tension between you and the General.”
“Liz is, was, Elisabeth McGraw; Edie McGraw’s younger sister.”
“What happened?”
“She died, long time ago now.”
“How?”
“Look, Jade, you seem like a nice enough person and I’m sure that in time we’ll be just great friends and all, but this is not a subject I like to talk about with anyone. It’s nothing personal: it just brings up too many bad memories.”
“And this is the reason that you and General McGraw don’t like each other.”
“I never said I don’t like General McGraw: he was like a brother to me, back in the day. But sometimes things happen that change people.”
“And this something that happened, happened to the General’s sister?”
“What part of ‘I don’t want to talk about it’ do you have trouble with?”
“Just curios.”
“Yeah, well, curiosity killed the cat.”
“I’m just having trouble understanding the situation: I’ve known General McGraw for two years, and he’s never mentioned a sister, living or dead. He didn’t even mention your name until we reached the point of needed a qualified instructor.”
“That’s probably because the last time we were in the same room, he knocked out two of my teeth: I had to have them re-seeded, and that hurts like hell. I can’t complain too much: did break his jaw.”
“You broke the General’s jaw?” Ling stepped out of the elevator as the doors finally opened; leading the way down a grey and utilitarian corridor, “No wonder he never mentioned you before.”
“No; that’ll still be about Liz.” McNamara straightened his shirt: wishing he’d had time to grab something more presentable out of his wardrobe before leaving his apartment, “It’s always about Liz.”
“We’ll see. Ling stopped outside an unmarked door and opened it into a small outer-office. Two uniformed and armed guards stood by another door off to one side, opposite a desk.
“Hello, Dr Ling.” The young man behind the desk stood when he saw them, “I take it that this is Captain McNamara?”
“No.” McNamara shook his head, “Just plain old Mr McNamara.”
“As you wish.” The sectary nodded, “The General is expecting you.”
“Thank you, Travis.” Ling nodded, before heading towards the other door. She knocked twice, before looking over her shoulder as she started to turn the handle, “Now play nice...”
To be continued...