Wild Horses [FF] Chapter Five posted...

[Jonesybites]

Greetings and welcome to the Songs of Sirens, a series of events that surround the events before and after Snowblind.

Wild Horses is the first installment, which takes place roughly a month before Snowblind, as a fleet of contracted cargo rigs, attempt to ship needed supplies to Fort Block before the cold harsh Frost, worsens. However, as of recent, the rigs have been subjected to raids by some renegade Stranded, stealing supplies and sometimes, killing the rig crew.

In response for needed additional security, Sergeant Lucius Jacquin is assigned, along with a handful of Gears to help escort the rigs safely across the abandoned, Farrall territory.

If you have not read Snowblind, the story takes place a month or two after Jacinto’s Remnant, before the relocation to Vectus Island.

I already have the outline set up, I just have to elaborate on the details between the charcters, which will be the beating heart of the story.

Here's a little teaser...

W I L D . H O R S E S

by Jonesybites

I've made my mistakes
I've seen my heart cave in
I got my scars
I've been to hell and back again

Born for the blue skies
We’ll survive the rain
Born for the sunrise
We’ll survive the pain

We're the dark horses.

~Switchfoot~


It had been nearly a months now, since we’ve been running consignments to the newly COG occupied base on the south coast of Port Farrall. I’ve been getting new shipment orders almost every other day, searching for anything and everything to be relocated to the base, but we’re starting to run out suppliers.

Ever since Jacinto fell into the sea, the people have grown desperate, often waiting for the rigs to come in with supplies we would gather from abandoned facilities that have been longed ravaged by the Locusts. I’ve lost count the many times we had to call in COG personnel to help us unload the shipments, trying to shoo off the desperate civilians, ransacking the crate of rations before we could even unload it off the trailer…it’s a pitiful sight.

Although I would have never thought I would be dragged all the way out here, there has always been talks about coming to Farrall, but things have changed, just over the past five years, while at the same time, some things stay the same. It has always seemed like an endless waltz of war, ceasefire, small skirmishes, and then back to war again. If it’s not one thing, it’ll be another…now, we’re having to take routes to avoid certain towns that contain Stranded gang lords, Locust outposts, or areas that have been known to be occupied by the Feral. Every day, I would always inspect my rig, code named, Pegasus, coming across a new dent caused by a ricochet bullet, or embedded pelts from buckshot. Now I wonder if the others regret their ambitions about coming to Farrall, and it’s only been getting harder for all of us.

Fortunately, I’ve managed to run into some help, a couple of young girls whom lost their parents from some Stranded raids a few years back. I managed to take them in, cut their hair, and gave them names that would make a couple of believable thirteen year old boys, working along the Santa Fe, Mining Corp., to transport ammunitions, medicines and supplies to the military bases presently stationed at Fort Block. The last thing they needed was to be thrown into some, military sanctioned breeding camp, to be treated like a couple of phillies, bred to some Joe Blow stud, or dragged to some underground Stranded brothel, where virginity was sold for a handsome price.

So far, we have not run into any problems as long as I made the shipments on time and kept the consignments in check, following the usual protocol while keeping our profile low, concealing the identity that are all too common for the likes of us.

I had always hoped for better, a happier ending for the girls, but I never would have thought in a million years that these recent events, would ever take me there.

Jack Gembry

.I N D E X.

Chapter 1: The Riders...Page 2

Chapter 2: Pegasus' Phillies...Page 3

Chapter 3: Moving The Herd...page 4

Chapter 4: The Bitter Trail...page 6

Chapter 5: Bait and Switch ...page 7

[SKORGE]

Interesting, I'll have to keep this on mind once again. Let's see where this goes, oh and glad your out writing again!

[TheRealBigBoss]

Grab yer flannel shirts, baseball caps, oily jeans and down vests! It's trucking time! Yeeeehaaaawww!

Lol, yeah, sounds great. I'm still kinda confused as to how any independent commercial operations could still be running though. I mean, how do the COG pay them for example? I guess the COG could always use rations cards, which could be then traded for supplies at a supply depot. I dunno...

Anyways, guess I should point out some errors I found?

supplies we would gather from abandoned facilities that have been longed ravaged by the Locust occupation

I think long since works better. And Locust tend to ravage areas and move on, rather than occupy, so maybe you might think of changing Locust occupation to something else, like maybe ravaged by the Locust plague...

small squirmishes

Yeah, think you meant, skirmishes...

And that's about all I spotted.

Sounds like it's gonna rock anyways, you always write great stuff.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Now i really do need to speed up with Snowblind.

Chop chop!

[Jonesybites]

Grab yer flannel shirts, baseball caps, oily jeans and down vests! It's trucking time! Yeeeehaaaawww!

Lol, yeah, sounds great. I'm still kinda confused as to how any independent commercial operations could still be running though. I mean, how do the COG pay them for example? I guess the COG could always use rations cards, which could be then traded for supplies at a supply depot. I dunno...

Hea, no kidden...I'm doing a handful of research, including technical mechanics of modern-day truck-trailers, and of course, the radio lingo, lol. (nah, I'm not going to make it that cliche')

At this point, I believe any private company that was going contract work with the COG is now grand-fathered in under military sanction by the Fortification Act. It could be a stipulation put into contract during times of war to appeal to their "clientel," and it's appealing to employees, because of job security, even though it can be under the COG's jurisdiction, while other private companies fall to the wayside. As a result, the employees are technically considered a branch of the military, and are therefore given the same means as any COG soldier, hence rations, fuel, supplies, ect. This is just speculation of course, and by no means canon.

Now obviously, some dissagreements do occur when the military takes over, concerning company policy, but if if they want to keep their job, they have to comply...conflicts are bound to happen. In this case, we have a driver who has two young girls, ages 16 & 17, pretending to be "boys" to avoid being subjected by the Fortification Act, while traveling out in questionable conditions, subjected to raids, while working under the "fascist" regime of the COG. No stress there. But, as long as they continue to make their payloads on time, without question, they can slip under the radar most of the time, but how long will that last.

Now i really do need to speed up with Snowblind.

Chop chop!

I wouldn't bend over backwards too much reading Snowblind, since this story takes place before the events thereof. The only thing that is relevent to this story from Snowblind is some of the Gears, mostly Sergeant Jacquin, whom is mentioned lightly later in the Snowblind story, and just some mention of the Feral. The COG believe, at this point in time, that the Feral are still a potential threat in some areas.

[Jonesybites]

Yeah, think you meant, skirmishes...

And that's about all I spotted.

Sounds like it's gonna rock anyways, you always write great stuff.

I'll go back to re-check...I'm suprised that Word didn't pick up on that...

...but thanks for pointing it out.

[SKORGE]

Yeah, your right. The jurisdiction act made any and all operations under the government and independent into one, under the war effort. Kind of like how many of the jobs and economics was directed toward the war in World War II.

And besides, due to the fact that the Locust crushed anything in their way, many people would have abandoned their own jobs to seek refuge, making any 'independent' job, not really independent at all.

[smurf plastic]

Seems like an interesting twist, but I share the same concerns as Boss does about it feeling like "Gears".

[Jonesybites]

Seems like an interesting twist, but I share the same concerns as Boss does about it feeling like "Gears".

You may have to define "Gears" for me, because the way I understood it (and this is just me), it's just a bunch of people trying to survive a near genocide, despite decades of killing each other. This story accomplishes the same; a handful of people attempting to deliver desperately needed supplies while trying to protect the cargo, and themselves, from ganglords, or pockets of resistance fighters, while possibly dealing with some internal issues that may also jepoardize the mission.

I personally don't see it as being all that different from the others here, but then again, I tend to elaborate more on the balancing act between valor and moral convention, which will play a part here.

Anyhoosits...well, for the sake of debate, there you have it lol.

[smurf plastic]

Well, were the girls Stranded before they came under this man's wing? Or were they citizens? If they were citizens then they would have been recorded and monitored for when they can start making babies (Seeing as babies are very important to the COG). If they were Stranded, how would their rough way and most likely anti-COG ideologies fit in with working for a man who works with COG?

Your summary of Gears is right, but not specific; as Boss mentioned before how would these private ventures work? I, for one, would believe that the COG would just commandeer the man's vehicle and make him work specifically for the COG. In Gears, the COG control everything that isn't controlled by gang lords, resistance fighters, or Stranded because they are the ones with power that can keep people safe.

[Jonesybites]

Well, were the girls Stranded before they came under this man's wing? Or were they citizens? If they were citizens then they would have been recorded and monitored for when they can start making babies (Seeing as babies are very important to the COG). If they were Stranded, how would their rough way and most likely anti-COG ideologies fit in with working for a man who works with COG?

Your summary of Gears is right, but not specific; as Boss mentioned before how would these private ventures work? I, for one, would believe that the COG would just commandeer the man's vehicle and make him work specifically for the COG. In Gears, the COG control everything that isn't controlled by gang lords, resistance fighters, or Stranded because they are the ones with power that can keep people safe.

Rieterering history, a "leftist" regime, the Communist Soviet Union, the government controlled everything; there were no private entities. However, another "leftist" regime, Nazi Germany, the government allowed private companies to mandate their identities, they just simply told them what they were to produce and how to do it for the war effort. Granted, most business owners were part of the "Nazi Party," but they were still able to keep their businesses private. So this "policy" or means of governing is possible and plausible.

Concerning the girls, there is a twist in the story that I cannot elaborate on as of yet so I will have to leave that question/comment mute for the time being, but in the grander sheme of things, (there I go scheming) I would think the girls could care less what ideology the man has, especially since he's taken them in, protecting them and not exploiting them, teaching them the tricks of the trade...just trying to survive without resorting to illegal means, as some others have done.

[Jonesybites]

Holy cow, I thought I would never get to this...anyway, here's chapter one. This won't be near as long as Snowblind was, but I'm kinda still aloof of the structure.

I'm starting this off in a different direction, so you'll have to let me know if this works or not. As always, feedback is welcome...

.PROLOGUE.

…fourteen hours after rig deployment.

Of all the training Private Dante’ Raphael had to endure during basic, nothing had prepared him for this. Staring blankly directly into the barrel of a forty-five revolver, he could feel the metallic taste in his parched, dry mouth, glaring at the cold, alloy metal revolver, staring right back at him as Jacque pointed the pistol directly into his face, while Billy and Tommy just stood back in awe, completely detached from the reality happening before them.

It hit Tommy the hardest as she watched helplessly from abroad, peering through the falling snow while Jacque held Raphael at gunpoint. She couldn’t help to wonder…where is the Sergeant?

Dom slowly lifted his head from the snow-covered ground, catching up with the events that had transpired before he was knocked unconscious. Realizing what had happened, Dom reached into his left holster, but his Snub wasn’t there, aw s***…bad timing there Santiago…very bad.

Looking dizzily from the ground, Dom could tell that Raphael was sweating bullets, succumbed under the tight spot Jacque forced them into, keeping everyone on a tight leash, including the girls. With Raphael being held at point blank range, while the two, unarmed girls huddling to the side, and the Sergeant nowhere in sight, Dom had nothing to fall back on…well we sure as hell didn’t see this one coming…how the hell did we end up like this?

.CHAPTER 1. The Riders

One week after the relocation to Port Farrall, at the shipping dock…fourteen hours before rig deployment…

Walking along the snow covered, wooden deck, out in the icy breeze, that has been getting worse as each week passes, Sergeant Lucius Jacquin waits patiently for the supply rigs to finally come in for transfer.

One of Sante Fe’s, old gunships, MacBeth, is docked nearby, waiting for the supply rigs to come in to pick up crates of medical equipment, blankets, ammunitions, and rations. Although Fort Block contained it’s own infirmary storage facility, many of the equipment there have since then been seriously outdated and have become obsolete, or non-functional. With a sudden rise in a flu epidemic, many of Jacinto’s remnant have been waiting out for anti-biotics, syringes, and ointments to treat external infections that where also on the rise, not to mention a growing number of cases of pneumonia.

To make the situation even worse, the rigs have recently been under constant threat of attacks by rebel Stranded, often robbing the trailer of their supplies, and in some cases, killing the driver and his crew. There has since been three major cases where the COG lost several rigs, resulting in a calamity that has cost lives due to the lack of rations and medicines. Since then, Colonel Hoffman had no choice but to take initiative to make sure their supply rigs were protected.

Hoffman soon assigned Lucius to the job, along with four other men from Epsilon one, Delta one, and Beta five. Captain Miller was generous to assign some members of his squad to assist the Sergeant while convincing Lieutenant Stroud to coerce Sergeant Fenix into also contributing some of his men to the menagerie.

Although many of the Gears loathed the idea of babysitting a handful of supply trucks, Lucius managed to convince some, of the importance of making sure the trucks got to the Block with their shipments in place.

Since the remnants of a once prosperous society, now taking refuge at a cold, long abandoned facility with little food, medicine, and heaters, the death toll among the elderly and infants was staggering. It was a cheerless forethought that people were dying, despite efforts being made to try and get the supplies into the COG storage houses, before the Frost worsened to the point the rigs could no longer ride the icy roads to Fort Block.

Looking out to the road nearby as the gray, overcast sky loomed over the terrain, Lucius couldn’t help but to wonder how much longer the rigs can last this hard weather. He could recall in the past, that the supply trucks were, for the most part, indestructible. Designed to withstand the wind capacity often delivered by typhoons, the big rigs held there place on the road well, without wavering, while their tires were sheltered with armored plates that hung from the chassis, shielding them from flying debris.

As of late, Lucius read up on some reports, giving some detail about how the Stranded insurgents were taking out the back tires, where the armor offered little, if any, protection. In one incident, a few Stranded followed the rig on motorcycles, taking turns shooting with Gnashers at the back of the rig, while a passenger in a lone pick-up, would make the final blow with a armor piercing round from his rifle, causing the back two tires to rupture, as the trailer would buckle, causing the rims to drag on the road, decimating the rear axle from the unstable force from the weight. They’re becoming more, and more proficient…this has to be the orchestration from some, hierarchal posse…they are way too organized to be just a handful of drifters, trying to get by from freezing and starving. This is a covert job.

Looking up from his thoughts, Lucius could hear the familiar sound of a Dill making its way towards the dock site parking lot as it moved up slowly before coming to a halt. As Lucius made his way to the Dill, he could hear the parking break valve, compress from under the hull as the latch to the door turns and opens up from the front. Familiar voices could be heard coming from the cabin, a sound that Lucius welcomed after being isolated from headquarters for two days,

“…where the f*** did you learn to drive, Spades?”

Lucius instantly recognized the voice as that of Corporal Damon Baird, grudgingly stepping out of the Dill while moving around, dropping to his hands and knees, inspecting the suspension on the driver side tire,

“…when you see a pothole, you drive around it, s***bag!”

“Yea, yea…b****, b****, b****…just for that, D, I’ll be sure to drive right through it next time…” Corporal Hades Bjork yelled over the driver side console while Private Raphael was the next to step out of the APC.

“…you break my Dill numbnuts, I swear…”

“It’s not your Dill, Damon, it’s taxpayers’ property,” said Captain Miller as he followed Raphael, stepping out into the slushy snow and turned over to see Sergeant Jacquin waiting patiently to the side while Baird continued to rant,

“…and most of those taxpayers are dead, Captain…”

Shortly after Bairds’ comment, another APC pulled up and parked next to the first one. The front hatch opened up, as the warm air from the inside of the cabin quickly seeped out while Epsilon’s medic, Corporal Grimes stepped out, shuffling his short blonde hair after sleeping in the shotgun seat, while Dominic was the next to follow, bringing his hand over his face to shield his sober eyes from the light, after sitting in a dark Dill for awhile.

Captain Miller was the first to greet the Sergeant while the others were still getting situated,

“So what’s the word, Lucius?”

“The rigs should be here shortly…I have schematics of the route we’re taking to the Block,” Lucius responded, holding up a bonded book that mapped out the roads and terrain of Port Farrall, “…so who’s coming?”

Shortly after Lucius asked the question, Miller walked up to him, scratching his forehead while joining up with the six foot, four, Sergeant, whom towered over Jon as soon as he joined him.

In the distance, the Gears could still be audibly heard as the group mingled next to the parked Dill’s, making small talk or ranting about one thing or another, mostly from Baird’s assessment of his prized APC.

“This is the last time I let you drive my ride, Spades…”

“Pfft, that’s what she said,” Bjork retorted while laughter followed shortly afterwards.

“For crying out loud, Baird, it’s just a Dill…” Dom could be heard, while Baird stood back up from evaluating his precious baby,

“…and it’s one out of eight, functioning Dills that we have left, Santiago…out of twenty from a month ago! Do the f***ing math on that!”

The argument continued as the Captain sighed, turning his focus back to the Sergeant, reevaluating the squadron’s placements.

“I got you teamed up with Raph, Dom, and Welche…you’ll be riding on the Pegasus…and from what I can gather, the driver goes by the name of Jack Gembry, and has a two man crew…” Miller elaborated as he looked up at the others briefly, making sure their little spat doesn’t go beyond just talking trash, “…and then I’ll have Sergeant Fargaus, Gaiman, Bjork, and Grimes, escorting the Appaloosa…and the driver is actually the company frontman, Henry Dalquist.”

“Dalquist? Now why is the manager sticking his neck out on this one?” Lucius questioned.

For years, Santa Fe had renewed their contracts with the COG, year after year, often supplying their resources because they had the means to provide the better bid. However, what they made up for in dollars, they lacked in efficiency in the management dept. It wasn’t uncommon for the rig drivers to have a better instinct with proficiency, keeping the operations running smoothly, while the higher ups just provided a face for the sake of presentation. It wasn’t usual for the manager to go on a “ride.”

After the Lightmass offensive, the company was hit hard by Locust attacks, decimating several plants, and had to fall back on the Fortification Act, by willingly surrendering their vessels, while conscripting their contracted employees, including management.

“They relinquished their assets to keep the company afloat…after recent events, s***, I would,” Miller responded, knowing that if it wasn’t for joining up with the COG, the company would have dissolved along with many others that suffered economic blows from the Human/Locust war.

As the two men could still hear the Gears shoot the breeze, Lucius evaluated the numbers as he turns his glare back to Miller, whom hoped to find some approval from the veteran Sergeant.

“I’m hoping a two squad escort will be more than enough to get these rigs safely to Fort Block,” Miller added.

“…two squads?” Lucius reiterated Miller, as the massive Sergeant briefly glanced at the squadrons with qualm, and then returned his gaze back to the Captain.

“Look…Lucius, I was lucky to manage get some Gears with field experience…if you haven’t noticed, we’re running thin on veterans here, and the recruits are just too, damn green for a mission of this caliber…”

And he was right. Recruits were beginning to outnumber the vets, while the latest statistics of Gear longetivity, as of recent, was staggeringly low. Some call it skill, others say it was luck, and no one of the group knew this more than Miller, Dom, Lucius, Baird, and Bjork. Whatever fate had in store for them, it just wasn’t their turn…or at least not yet.

“Sigh, understood Captain…we’ll make this work,” Lucius grumbled, nodding in compliance, while Miller nodded in return as he too turned his gaze to the Gears nearby, two of which where kicking up snow against “Baird’s Dill,” as the sound of ranting could be heard from the cantankerous mechanic,

“Hey, hey, hey…will knock that s*** off? Especially you Spades, Langston…oh, don’t even get me started with you, Dom… ”

Lucius gestured in compliance as the Captain let out a long sigh, turning his attention back to the Sergeant,

“Look on the bright side, Sergeant,…at least you‘re not having to put up with D…”

[SKORGE]

Will read the next day at the break of sunlight for sure. Been ages since you updated this huh?

[Jay the Arbiter]

Just noticed this now!

Only things I noticed was that Hoffman is still being said with two N's, and when you said awe s*** did you mean aw?

Good good though!

Why am I hearing Lucius as a frenchmen? The mental image I'm conjuring up is a Gear's version of Luc from the Saboteur.

[Jonesybites]

Just noticed this now!

Only things I noticed was that Hoffman is still being said with two N's, and when you said awe s*** did you mean aw?

Good good though!

Why am I hearing Lucius as a frenchmen? The mental image I'm conjuring up is a Gear's version of Luc from the Saboteur.

Fixed...

...now I'm going to have to go watch the Saboteur to understand the French connection, lol.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Ze Resistance grows stronger!

The Saboteur was a game, the last game by Pandemic I believe.

It's just something I do, when I read character dialouge, I like to give them a voice. For whatever reason, Lucius has Luc, while Miller has Corporal Roebuck's voice from World At War.

[Jonesybites]

Ze Resistance grows stronger!

The Saboteur was a game, the last game by Pandemic I believe.

It's just something I do, when I read character dialouge, I like to give them a voice. For whatever reason, Lucius has Luc, while Miller has Corporal Roebuck's voice from World At War.

Lol, my bad...why I was thinking you were referring to a movie is beyond me...but I get what you're saying, and it's not a bad idea.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Maybe because it sounds like a movie name?

[SKORGE]

Nice work Jonesy, though this one took a hell of a long time to get started eh? Anyway, somehow this seems like it's set up different then Snowblind, still good as always. I didn't really see anything that needed attention, Jay seems to have corrected something or all of it.

Continue.

[Jonesybites]

Nice work Jonesy, though this one took a hell of a long time to get started eh? Anyway, somehow this seems like it's set up different then Snowblind, still good as always. I didn't really see anything that needed attention, Jay seems to have corrected something or all of it.

Continue.

Yea, no Cole or Baird running around with their pants down, and around their ankles, and no Feral skinny dipping in the pool...just a rag-tag security escort against a Stranded gang(s)...

...oh, and Dom, *boohoo, Mariiaaa, sob.

[SKORGE]

Hahaha......

'and Dom'

[Jonesybites]

Well, here's chapter 2...

.CHAPTER 2. Pegasus’ Philly’s

Although I can usually count on Henry to keep things in perspective for the sake of the company, the idea of consigning to the COG is a bad joke that’s been told one time too many. Can’t imagine what the other drivers feel like since it varies between whom stands to lose the most.

Well, it’s official now, so no use in bringing it up anymore, other than just moving along to keep the peace…

The girls have been doing ok, considering I’ve had to put up with their adolescent tendencies, as expected with any teenage girls, except I’m having to deal with twice the potency. Although Tommy is for the most part submissive, maybe too submissive, occasionally Billy will question my authority, which is expected from someone of her caliber. She reminds me so much of myself…stubborn and bull-headed at the same time. Maybe God is trying to tell me something.

Jack Gembry

Macbeth’s ship Captain, stood from the dock as he noticed Pegasus and Appaloosa parked long the loading dock, waiting for loading. Opening the back doors to the trailers, the rig crews lowered the ramps from the loading console, operating the mechanism from the inside of the trailer.

The rigs had a sturdy build, layered with armored plates that could withstand small to medium rounds from most pistols and assault rifles. The trailer was latched to the rig, in contrary to the old “hitch and link” for more armored protection for the freight, and could be detached from the truck with a security code that only the driver knew, and him alone. With an, over ten thousand horsepower, semi-automatic, engine that sat in front of the drivers’ cabin, the rig had a ten ton capacity, up to sixty miles per hour in normal road conditions.

Santa Fe spared no expense in the construction of these freight transports, making sure that they could handle driving through uncompromising conditions, especially since it wasn’t unheard of that supply trucks would sometimes end up running into skirmishes between the COG and UIR. Santa Fe had long grew wise to the political clout that hung over the nations of Sera, often threatening their base of operations more times than they could keep count. They often would strategically relocate their vessels and crews to a temporary territory, moving into another location when the zone was no longer a safe haven.

As the Captain walked over to greet the rig crews, Henry jumped from the trailer ramp with open arms,

“Captain Bastion…I’d never thought to see your sorry, ugly ass…”

“…not as ugly as yours, Henry…you could’ve made a livin’ working in the circus,” the Captain laughed as he wrapped his arms around Henry, patting him on the back.

“Well, there’s not going to be a circus for awhile, so, I’ll have to refrain myself from making a career change,” Henry responded as he turned his focus back to the Captain, “…but it’s good to see you again, Mic.”

Mic chuckled as he patted Henry on the shoulder, looking up at the loading ramp that was connected from his ship to the dock.

“So whach’a got going on here, Henry?” Mic asked as Henry pulled off his hat, scratching his dry scalp that has been aggravated from the cold,

“We have to get these supplies to the Block…they have a handful of what was left of the civilians from Jacinto waiting there, and they’re running low, Mic.”

“You already lost Clydesdale and Shire, Henry…is it worth losing another lorry, or another shipment for that matter, which I shouldn’t have to remind you that these armaments were not easy to find…”

“…the COG has stepped in to beef up our security, Mic…”

“Wait…the COG? They’re actually giving you, military escort?”

“That’s right Mic…”

“S***, you know Gembry isn’t going to like that…”

“…yea, well, Jack doesn’t hold the pink slip either…I do…”

The Captain chuckled slightly, knowing that Jack Gembry never liked the idea of submitting all operations to the COG, for the sole purpose of keeping assets, but for the sake of Sante Fe’s future as a shareholder, Henry knew that company interests had to be priority.

As the men looked up towards the ship crew, moving crates towards the ramps to the rigs, the sound of a familiar voice could be heard,

“Jack wants the rations loaded first…”

Henry, turned around and noticed young Tommy, skittering around the cargo crates while the men from the ship crew began loading the freight rig, otherwise known as Appaloosa.

“Tommy…come here boy…” Henry yelled over the crates as Tommy turned around and noticed them. Seeing Henry waiving his hands, Tommy pulled the hoodie from over her head, revealing sloppily cut, blonde hair, shuffled in different directions, while waving back. Tommy runs over to the two men, huffing through the cold, dense air.

“Jack wanted the crates…”

“Yea, yea, I know that Jack prefers the ration crates first…” Henry interrupted before he turned Tommy’s attention to the Captain, “…Tommy, I wanna introduce you to Captain Bastion…”

“Hello there son,” the Captain replied to the kid, while Tommy’s face beamed with rosy cheeks, layered with a faint film of grim and frost.

“Damn kid, did Jack cut your hair?” the Captain soon noticed,

“…yes sir.” Tommy replied.

“…yea, Jack isn’t much of a barber…” Henry reiterated, noticing the uneven strands of bangs that framed Tommy’s smooth, pale face, “…and I take it Bill got the chop too?”

“Both of us needed it…the barber we used to go to is no longer there…”

“…I can relate to that,” the Captain could recall, missing his barber that he would go to for nearly fifteen years in Jacinto…not anymore.

“Look, Toms, the reason I called you over here is that we’re going to have some Gears escort us down FM 45, to Fort Block…”

“Whoa, for real? Does Jack know about it?” Tommy beamed at the news.

“I already gave Jack the low down…I just wanted to make sure you, and Billy understand something before we depart…” Henry reiterated as Tommy nodded in return, “…speaking of which, where is Billy?”

“Bills was in the cabin the last time I saw him,” Tommy answered.

Billy was one out of the three man crew that rode the freight rig, Pegasus, with Jack Gembry as the head driver. Billy was only a year older than Tommy, and more cynical, while Tommy for the most part, timid. Despite their differences in character, the two got along well and worked well along with Jack, whom always looked out for them in more ways than one. The only one who anything of the duo’s identity was Henry, which was a cause for concern especially since some Gears were going to be riding with them.

“Well, when you go back and find him…and tell him to meet me behind the dock…ya got it, kid?”

“Yessir…” Tommy nodded in compliance, and then turned to run off, looking for Billy.

“That there’s a fine kid, Henry…where did you say Jack found them?” Mic asked.

“Awhile back, they lost their folks to some Stranded riff-raff, running around, causing all sorts of trouble, which consequently resulted in their parent’s deaths.”

“Son of a b****…and I take it your expecting to run into some riff-faff along the way?”

"Unfortunately so."

“…and they’ve been attacking your rigs?”

“Yep…that’s how we lost Volare and Germaine…those bastards also tore up the suspension in the rigs and ran off with the supplies. I’ve never seen it this bad before, Mic…”

“Well hopefully you’ll have a better chance of getting through this time around, Henry.”

“We’ll see…”

********

Sitting underneath a roofed dock port, the Gears took refuge from the falling snow as they huddled up for debriefing before the two rigs they intend to provide security, deploy to Fort Block.

“Listen up men…” Captain Miller could be heard over the creaking noises of the docked Macbeth, and the racket coming from the loading docks as they transferred the cargo into the rigs,

“You are to protect the freight transport, specifically, the Appaloosa and the Pegasus, at all cost…this is a priority one objective, it is imperative that these rigs get to Fort Block.”

“What should we expect, Captain?” Dom asked as the others listened inventively,

“A few weeks ago, Santa Fe lost two of their freight trucks, driving towards Fort Block from the Port. When the rigs were finally discovered, they were ransacked of cargo and crew…we eventually found the crew, whom apparently where decapitated and dumped not too far from the immobile rigs. We have reason to believe that some Stranded co-op group is chasing the rigs, taking them out by their back tires, causing the vehicle to break down.”

The Gears murmured to each other while other’s groaned in disgust. As if it wasn’t bad enough that the relations between Stranded and the Gears was fragile at best, the events of recent only added more fuel to the fire that may dissolve the relationship between the two factions completely.

“Assuming they’re armed, what are they using to take down the back axle?” Corporal Bjork asked,

“They’re using a combination of Gnashers and rifles, with armor piercing rounds…”

“Yea, that’ll do it..” Bjork reiterated, knowing that the combination between busting out the back end, succumbing to the weight of the rig on icy roads can cause the back axle to snap.

“Obviously, these people are armed and they’re shooting to kill…you know the policy, and you know the objective men…do I make myself clear?”

“Yes sir,” the men responded in unison, gathering their armaments,

“We will be in radio contact at all times…”

“Affirmative to that,” Dom recapped as the others nodded in compliance.

“…then we’ll see you at the Block…dismissed!”

[SKORGE]

Good chapter, oh and the first bit you have GOC instead of COG. The chapter was great, if not a little surprising in terms of size coming from you Jonesy. Maybe it's because I'm reading this after the Mockingbird short, or this was swept up really fast because of my super reading skillz.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Will read later...

[Jonesybites]

Good chapter, oh and the first bit you have GOC instead of COG. The chapter was great, if not a little surprising in terms of size coming from you Jonesy. Maybe it's because I'm reading this after the Mockingbird short, or this was swept up really fast because of my super reading skillz.

Wow, that was totally backwards, lol.

[Jay the Arbiter]

Do Americans use the term Lorry?

Anyway, I read it and it was good!

[Jonesybites]

Do Americans use the term Lorry?

Anyway, I read it and it was good!

Not normally, they usually use rig, truck, or in the statutes (or at least in the state of Texas) they're referred as tractor-trailors, depending on the weight of the "rig" or "lorry"...maybe I should make up my own term.

...but I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[SKORGE]

Wow, that was totally backwards, lol.

Government of Coalitions

Hmm.... quick copyright that, Cliff might take it!

[Jonesybites]

Government of Coalitions

Hmm.... quick copyright that, Cliff might take it!

Too late...speaking of which, THEY STOLE MY NEPALM GRENADE IDEA,

I originally had those in Snowblind damnit, lol...oh wellz.

[Jay the Arbiter]

I was thinking more Goalitions of Covernment.

[SKORGE]

Too late...speaking of which, THEY STOLE MY NEPALM GRENADE IDEA,

I originally had those in Snowblind damnit, lol...oh wellz.

Maybe that was a silent nod of a thanks to you?

LOL @ Jay!

[Jay the Arbiter]

Fear not, for when Gears 3 wins, like, twenty million awards, Cliff will at one point say: I'd like to thank that person who did Snowblind for letting us "Borrow" the Napalm Grenade idea.

[Jonesybites]

Ok, chapter 3 posted...don't everybody post all at once, lol (sarcasm intended)...pulling this thing back out from the thread pile. I reread it several times, but I'm sure I may missed a few errors...anyhoot, feedback is welcome.

.CHAPTER 3. Moving The Herd

I always wondered who a Gear was…although I see them on the recruitment posters, I never thought I would get to work with one, and up close! Jack doesn’t trust them though…although I don’t fully understand all that Jack has been through over the years, I guess I could say that bad things have happened to all of us after E-day.

…I just wish Jack would open up to us about it. It can get pretty lonely out here, always hanging around some old guys all the time. Thank God, I have Billy to talk to, but Bills can be a bit mellow dramatic, like Jack sometimes. I wonder how much longer can we do this…how much longer are we going to have to pretend we're someone we're not? I’m getting tired of looking like some goofy boy with a bad haircut.

Tommy Mays

“Since we have Gears riding in the cabin, expect the possibly to be in the crossfire, so be sure to wear your helmet…I don’t want to be picking your brains out of my upholstery…”

…Jack Gembry announced through a malfunctioning mouthpeice in his helmet, which had a slight ring through the voice projector, every time he spoke through it. Billy and Tommy instantly recognized the shrilling voice to be Jack’s, as they subconsciously did as they were told, scrounging the cabin for their helmets. It wouldn’t be the first time Jack made them wear them, since it wasn’t all that unheard of for a rig to take gunfire.

As the Gears began to approach the rigs, they instantly saw Jack, doing the usual routine inspections to make sure the tire inflation pressure was in regulation, while Billy tested the air brakes, as Jack listened for the release valve.

Lucius looked up at the rigmaster, watching him kneeling under the suspension while taking a glance at the rig as a whole. The Pegasus was an impressive armored freight transport, littered with dents and scratches from small arms and rapid fire, glancing the armored plates. The lorry itself had similar appearance to the COG Dills, with exception of the side doors, verses the front hatch. The windshield was partially protected by an armored shield, giving the driver some visual access to the front elliptical mirrors located on opposite sides of the hood. The paint on the chassis, for the most part, was fading with a partial silhouette of a horse, with feathered winds, was still visible.

Lucius approached the rigmaster, as Jack stood up from looking behind the rim. The onlooking Gears could tell that Lucius towered Jack by a foot, and he certainly wasn’t near as burly as the Sergeant, but it has been long said that Jack Gembry’s reputation, as being one of Santa Fe’s most efficient drivers, preceded him. Wearing a thick coat and hood with wool lining, utility pants and steel toe boots, Jack looked the part of a typical rigmaster. It wasn’t unusual for most drivers to wear tool belts and utility attire for the convenience of carrying wrenches, a tire pressure gauge, needle nose pliers, and spare fuses. It especially wasn’t uncommon for the drivers to wear helmets, since they spent the past thirty years often driving through war zones. Jack’s helmet, however, looked as if it had seen better days, with the glass shield scratched, and a few dents along the side, not to mention the squawky voice emulator. It was apparent that Jack experienced a few close calls in his nine-year career.

Acknowledging the Sergeant’s colossal presence, Jack looked up to Lucius,

“Are you Jack Gembry?” Lucius asked in a low, mellow tone while Jack gave him a nod,

“That would be me, soldier…” Jack responded, in his high, off-pitched voice, in contrast to the Sergeant’s,

“My name is Sergeant Lucius Jacquin…and this is my squad, Corporal Dominic Santiago, Private, First Class, Frank Welche, and Private Dante’ Raphael,” Lucius introduced the others as Jack looked them over briefly, “…we’re under orders to escort your rig to the Block.”

“So I heard…” Jack huffed under the shrill of his voicebox, coming from his helmet, “…then I will not delay you further, Sergeant…”

Jack gestured to the Gears, as he stepped back and pointed to the rig cabin,

“…there’s enough room in the cabin for two of you, and there’s plenty of room in the trailer quarters…make yourselves at home, gentlemen.”

Taking another sweep of the Pegasus, Lucius turned to the other three Gears,

“Dom, you and Welche take the trailer…”

“You got it, Sarge!” Dom responded while Lucius continued,

“Raph, you’ll ride with me in the cabin…”

“Yes sir!”

The men dispersed to their assigned locations while Lucius stood behind, watching from a distance as the other crew members, Billy and Tommy, made their way out of the cabin. Jack yelled out towards the two boys,

“Toms…Bills…come over here…”

The two straggly boys, wearing loosely fitting attire to cover their minuscule figures, with their heads covered in scarves and beanies, made their way to Jack, panting in the heavy, cold air.

“…all systems are ready to go, Jack,” Billy was the first to speak, hoping that Jack would take notice to the fact he had been working all morning to get the rig ready and up to par, “…we can leave at anytime.”

Being the more assertive of the two, Billy didn’t fall short from speaking his mind, but he had always known that Jack called the shots, regardless if his methods were questionable or not.

“I understand that Bills…boys, this is Sergeant Jacquin, and he and his men are going to be riding with us, and I expect you to cooperate with the Gears. Keep your focus, you know the drill, understand boys?”

“Yes…sir,” Tommy managed to squeak out while Billy on the other hand was hesitant to Jack’s tone, but complied anyway, knowing that Jack had their interest in mind,

“Yes sir,” said Billy, with more confidence than Tommy’s demeanor.

Jack turned his attention to Lucius,

“Was there anything you wanted to add, Sergeant?”

“I believe we all understand our place, rigmaster…I do not question the competency of your crew,” Lucius responded.

“In that case, get to your stations, boys…”

Tommy and Billy nodded and then proceeded to their posts, with Tommy taking shotgun in the lorry, while Billy went into the cabin.

“How long have they been riding with you?” Lucius asked, noticing that the boys couldn’t be any older than fourteen years of age, if even that. So young, but they probably had no other place to go.

“…since I found them, a little over two years ago…with no parents, no future, I figured they would make productive hands, rather than drifters, stealing rations to survive, among other things.” Jack replied.

It wasn’t uncommon for older children to take up small jobs, just to keep their idle hands productive, rather than destructive. Lucius could relate to that, since he too was subjected to labor at an early age, to keep him out of trouble, especially since it was trouble that put him there in the first place. He could respect Jack’s means of taking the boys under his wing.

“If something was to ever happen to me, one of the boys can operate the Pegasus…I’ve been teaching them the ropes incase of any emergencies, especially in times like these…” Jack reiterated as Lucius turned his gaze, watching the boys unhinging the fuel pump to the rig gas port.

“Have these boys ever seen a firefight?”

“Mild skirmishes, but nothing of the caliber of what it used to be before the Lightmass Offensive…”

“Can they operate a firearm?”

“Small caliber pistols…I have a thirty-two snubnose in the front compartment, but I keep my twelve gauge on the side of my seat…I haven’t taught them how to use that…and they most certainly have never seen, much less operate, an assault rifle.”

“Understood…what other arms do you have?”

“Isn’t that rather a bit intrusive, Sergeant?”

“I just need an overall assessment, Gembry, in the wake of someone possibly trying to hijack this rig…no offense, but the safety of my men come first…”

“…before the safety of civilians?”

“According to Santa Fe documentation, all company assets and resources are under control of the COG, therefore, you’re employer is under COG jurisdiction…”

“…and just as equally expendable, I got it Sergeant,” Jack sneered while tapping the last back tire with his boot, after reading the air pressure gauge. After the routine inspection, Jack placed his equipment back into his duffle bag as he soon looked back up, noticing the Sergeant towering over him, like a watchdog, chained to a pole.

“I’m not interested in your assessment of Santa Fe and COG relations, rigmaster…my concern is making sure your rig, and rig crew, along with the cargo, is safely transported to the Block, using whatever means necessary to make sure this objective is accomplished,” said Lucius, without conceit, and Jack could tell he was being serious, “…we have civilians dying daily due to malnourishment and disease…infants, young children, elderly, the list goes on. My men spent last week, burying the dead in the bitter cold, trying not to get sick themselves…the need for these rations and medical supplies is dire, rigmaster.”

“Well, I appreciate your concern for the lives of others, Sergeant…” Jack began as Lucius soon interrupted,

“…appreciation doesn’t even cover the amount of loss we have endured in the past few weeks, Gembry…please save your empathy, because you’re going to need it in the next six hours.”

“Well then, with that said, I would suggest you take your position in the cabin Sergeant…I’m under orders to leave in less than ten minutes.”

“Would it be feasible to set up a comm. link to others on the Appaloosa?”

“…do whatever is necessary, Sergeant…from what I understand, that is your primary objective,” Jack reiterated, while being tenacious at the same time, and Lucius could sense it. But instead of rebuking the rigmaster, he simply nodded and went over to the passenger side of the Pegasus, opening the door, only to find Tommy testing the radio frequency on the console.

“Oh…I’m…sorry…here I’ll move,” Tommy responded to the intimidating Gear,

“It’s ok, kid…continue checking your equipment. The last thing we need is for the radio to go out,” said Lucius as he effortlessly climbed into the cabin while trying to squeeze in as much as he could, enough to shut and latch the passenger door. Peering over his shoulder, he could see Raphael setting up the comm. link,

“How’s it going, Raph?”

“We’re good to go…just doing one more check,” said Raphael as he played with the frequency on the portable consol, “…hey Spades…can you hear me now?”

“Yea, I can still hear ya…it’s not like I’m getting paid any more for this, than patrolling the ass-end of Farrall’s borders…” Bjork griped as Lucius responded to the enigmatic Corporal,

“Keep the griping to a minimal, Spades…or else I’ll have you reassigned to guard duty on the picket fence, next to the porta potties…”

“Hey, listening to D whine about guard duty is more exciting than hanging with these jerks anyday…”

“Shut up Spades…” a voice could be hard in the background while Lucius let out a slight chuckle from the conversation coming from the Appalooosa,

“…c’mon, Grimes…you know you wanna piece of this…"

“Corporal, will you please put your pants back on…there’s children and a priest, present,” Sergeant Farguas could be heard coming from the other line,

“…so you can hear us, yes Corporal?” Lucius reiterated while Raph tried his best not to laugh,

“Roger that Sergeant…sorry for the delay, but someone told me to pull up my britches…”

“I’ll be sure to document that in my log, Spades…Jacquin out.”

Raphael chuckled while finishing the final touches to the transmitter as Tommy watched him with his curious, wide blue eyes. Lucius soon caught on to Tommy’s ogling as the kid glared at the young Gear, who probably couldn’t have been any older than nineteen years of age.

“Are you done with your radio test, kid?” Lucius asked, startling the youngster from watching Raphael setting up the consol,

“Um…yea…I was just…watching him put up that…um…exactly, what is that?”

Raphael looked up at the kid, watching from the front seat as Raphael stood up and moved to a seat next to the side compartment, allowing some space for Tommy to hop over the front seat and take station in the seat opposite of Raph's.

“It’s a portable comm. emulator…it allows us to broaden the frequency of our tac comms when out on mission…”

“So what makes it better than our radio?” Tommy asked, feeling the eyes of the Gears staring at the straggly kid, curious as to why they’re equipment was better than theirs,

“It’s not necessarily better, per say, it’s just a precaution…that, and it only works with our comms. It’s standard issue for every squad to carry one with them, especially when moving out of a certain range…”

“Oh…well…I guess that would make sense…” Tommy concluded, no longer wanting to burden the Gears with anymore questions, before the noise of someone opening the driver side door could be heard as the breeze brushed into the cabin, along with some snow.

Stepping into the driver seat as the cool air whistles along the doorframe, Jack hops into the seat and slams the door shut while getting situated, turning over to the Sergeant in the passenger side,

“Bad news, folks…” Jack began while starting up the rig ignition, getting the engine warmed up before departure, “…apparently we lost another rig that was dispatched last night…”

Tommy’s attention turned to Jack as the boy sat up from his seat, quick to reply…

“The Shire?” Tommy asked, choking on the words as a resonance of grief hit his chords, “…what of Maddie…and Stew?”

Jack sat in silence for the moment as Tommy’s words still hovered in the tight space between the Gears and the rig crew, while the noise coming from the grumbling engine was all that could be audible, before Jack broke all other silence with an assessment of the situation,

“It never made it to the Block…by now, the lorry is probably immobilized, the crew is either dead or going to be dead, and the cargo, ransacked…it would be pointless to try and salvage them…especially in this climate.”

Although the rigmasters were conscientious for their own, they didn’t underestimate the statistics either. Any rig crew knew of the risks they took, especially when it concerned cargo of vast importance. It was a sobering concept that once you were out, you were on your own, literally.

“What was the cargo?” Lucius asked, knowing that the Shire left late in the middle of the night, believing it to be the safest time to deport. It wasn’t like for any rig to venture out that late, so the cargo must have been a large concern.

“Sigh…firearms,” Jack answered gravely, “…the Shire was carrying firearms…Boltoks, Plancers…I have an extensive list of what types and caliber. The only good news that I can tell you was that there was no ammunitions on this ride.”

“..so whoever ransacked the rig has no ammo,” Raph observed, sitting up while turning his gaze over to the Sergeant,

“It’s company policy to never put all of your eggs in one basket,” Lucius pointed out as Jack added,

“Exactly…we learned long ago to never put weapons and ammunitions in the same freight…always separated for calamity’s such as these…”

“So I guess the question now is who’s carrying the ammunitions?” Lucius asked, knowing all to well what may end up happening on this route, as Jack replied to the Sergeant,

“We are.”

[SKORGE]

“Are you Jack Gembry?”

Embry no? You had Embry a few times and then it was Gembry.... is that how he says it or...?

“Would it be feasible to set up a comm. link to others on the Appaloosa?”

Period?

Other then that, nice to see this back up Jonesy!

[Jonesybites]

Fixed...that, and I noticed I misspelled plyers (should be pliers) and I wasn't quite sure if you put a period behind comm or not...anybody else have a answer?

[Jay the Arbiter]

Who's Tommy Mays?

Anyway, Skorge already pointed stuff out (Though for the record, I'll say Full stop) and it was a good chapter!

By the way, more fun voices! (Voicing the dialogue of characters, it's what I do)

Billy - Rad White (Transformers Armada)
Tommy - Fred (Transformers Armada)
Spades - Rattrap (Beast wars)

French Luc was only the beginning!

[Jonesybites]

Who's Tommy Mays?

Anyway, Skorge already pointed stuff out (Though for the record, I'll say Full stop) and it was a good chapter!

By the way, more fun voices! (Voicing the dialogue of characters, it's what I do)

Billy - Rad White (Transformers Armada)
Tommy - Fred (Transformers Armada)
Spades - Rattrap (Beast wars)

French Luc was only the beginning!

Oh, wow...you're going to be in for a rude awakening a little later on, lol...

...and Tommy Mays is one of the crew members on the Pegusas.

[TheRealBigBoss]

Lol, still wondering who this mysterious female Gear, Dominique Santiago, you keep talking about is. Or did you mean, "Dominic Santiago".

Moving swiftly on...

curious as to why they’re equipment was better than theirs

This reads as, "they are equipment was better then theirs". You should probably change it to something like, "curious as to why the COGs equipment was better than theirs."

I guess a comms emu is is something like a portable base station? More so than just a signal booster? I dunno, any radio operatives on the forum that can clarify? Over.

About Billy and Tommy. As readers we've been previously informed that they were girls, but throughout this chapter, they're referred to in the narrative as being boys. It might confuse some people. I know, it's one of those tricky things to write.

Two things about the first chapter that stuck out for me...

Someone mentioned "profit", and since money no longer has any meaning on Sera, it just struck me as kinda odd.

There were a lot of characters in some scenes, and at times it seemed like they were just popping up outta the blue! And I was like, "Now where the heck they did they come from?" So, maybe try setting up who's there in a scene at the start? I dunno, might be something to think about.

Anyways, griping over, and onto the good stuff!

I like the overall idea (seems almost like Ice Truckers - Sera Edition ). The little details add a sense of authenticity, the characterization is solid and intriguing, and there's a real sense of an unfolding story present. Ohh, and this rocks...

“So I guess the big question now is... who’s carrying the munitions?” Lucius asked, knowing all too well what may end up happening on this route, as Jack replied to the Sergeant,

“We are.”

[Jonesybites]

Heehee, a female Dom...yea, like we need another female Gear...thanks for pointing it out, I'll fix that shortly.

I'll have to get back with you on the "profit" thing, so I can go back and see what you're referring to...I've slept since then, lol.

The gender "affiliation" is a tricky thing to work with, and I was kinda on the rocks as to how should I address the "girls,'' disguised as guys...I dunno, any suggestions at this point would be helpful...although I'm not sure if some readers are aware that they are girls, disguised as guys.

There's a handful of suprise elements that I'll just have to post and get input to see if it worked out or not...this is why I need feedback, otherwise, I have no clue how the reader is interpreting the jargon.

Again, thanks for the read & reveiw.

[SKORGE]

I like the overall idea (seems almost like Ice Truckers - Sera Edition ).

You watch that show too!?