Asteroid Blues

Novyy Bangkok
October 7, 2196
Personal Log of Marauder SSgt. Randal Jackson

We were now armed with an O-12 warrant granting us permission to investigate Shasworth Financial. With this in hand we entered the Haqqislam Traffic Control area to search the Shasworth premises. Unfortunately, Haqqislam's Nomad allies refused to acknowledge our warrant and we were forced to conduct the mission with force.

The Nomads brought a fairly heavy force with them. To our right was a team of three Mobile Brigadas with a Daktari and Lupe Balboa, supported by McMurrough and a Bandit. On the left were to Wildcats and a Hellcat was in reserve.

I was on our left with SSgt. Ramirez and Sgt. Matthews. We were supported by Foxtrot SSgt. Rogers, Grunt PFC O'Connor and the Unknown Ranger. Doc Foster was in the rear. On our right were Operative SSgt. Ryan, Wild Bill, Grunt PFC Thompson, Minuteman Sgt. Anders and Lt. Chambers. They were supported by Foxtrot Sgt. Lopez and Maverick Cpl. Anderson.

The Unknown Ranger dashed forward to capture a Shasworth employee before the Nomads could respond. They were caught completely flatfooted and Shasworth traitor was captured with extreme ease. With the employee secured Sgt. Anders moved to engage the Mobile Brigada HMG but the firefight came to naught. SSgt. Ramirez then led our team to mine the Wildcat position to ensure it couldn't take action against us.

The Nomads were furious that they allowed us to capture that employee so fast and McMurrough charged forward. The Nomads tried to bring in a Hellcat but it's jump coordinates were off and it was forced back to their AO. The Mobile Brigada then engaged Sgt. Anders in a drawn out firefight that saw it wounded and Sgt. Anders taken out. with the way clear, McMurrough then began a bloody rampage. He moved up the ally that Sgt. Anders had covered before coming around the corner and laying down a wrath of chain rifle fire. Sgt. Lopez sacrificed himself to deploy a mine while SSgt. Ryan failed to dodge but survived the blast. Wild Bill too failed to dodge but survived the rounds while Lt. Chambers was brutally cut down, as was PFC Thompson. McMurrough pressed the attack, taking damage from the mine but failing to cause any casualties. Thus enraged, he fired of yet another chain rifle volley and SSgt. Ryan's luck finally ran out and she fell. Wild Bill's luck continued as he dodged out of the way.

McMurrough's rampage hurt us badly. We had lost our Lt. and had to rejig our command structure while improvising. Thankfully, Cpl. Anderson ended McMurrough's rampage and was able to provide cover Wild Bill to finish him off. With the confusion caused by the sudden loss of Lt. Chambers, that was all we could accomplish.

The Nomads began their assault with the full expectation of success. With the casualties we had sustained, that was a reasonable assumption. The Mobile Brigada team advanced cautiously, their goal to hack Wild Bill's comm system. In this they were successful. The Hellcat then moved to engage SSgt. Ramirez. After all the insanity that man has gone through and survived unscathed, he was finally wounded by a Hellcat's HMG. The Wildcat then attempted something similar against the Unknown Ranger but failed miserably and the Ranger's shot put a massive hole in center mass.

With the Unknown Ranger taking command we were able to coordinate our efforts again. Cpl. Anderson attempted to charge the Mobile Brigada team but they shrugged off her rocket fire while Lupe Balboa's nanopulsers tore her apart. The Unknown Ranger then moved over to our position and promptly shredded the Hellcat before going into suppressive fire to cover the area. I then advanced to take out the Wildcat. As I came around the corner he opened up with his flamer, the fire scorching my armor but leaving me otherwise unscathed. I then returned the favor with a burst from my assault pistol and left him in a pool of blood. I then attempted to eliminated the Daktari but it survived my fire.

The Nomadss maneuver options were limited but they did manage to secure SSgt. Ryan. Hopefully we can negotiate her release. Seeing that the Nomads couldn't prevent our escape with the captured intel, they withdrew with SSgt. Ryan and left was to recover our wounded and return with the intel we had acquired.

Interrogation of Shasworth Employee

Interrogator: In your time with Shasworth, what were your tasks?

Employee: They...they were to process payment requests for transport orders.

Interrogator: Did it seem odd to you that Shasworth was paying these transport requests since it's a finance company, not a logistics company?

Employee: I...I didn't really think about it. I just did as instructed. *shifting in chair*

Interrogator: You seem to want to say more.

Employee: *shifting nervously* You didn't ask questions at Shasworth. Our pay and benefits were amazing but if you spoke up with any concerns, you weren't seen again. I assume they were fired but we never saw any of those people again. If you kept your head down and did your job, everything was fine.

Interrogator: Interesting. Were there any areas you couldn't enter?

Employee: *increasing animation* YES! There was this whole wing that all employees were forbidden from entering. Only a very select few could enter. We don't know what was special about that room but and questions about it were instantly crushed.

Interrogator: Thank you for your cooperation. This information will prove very helpful for our investigation. Unfortunately, you are not free to go yet as we will likely have more questions and you still need to undergo genetic screening. Please enjoy your stay. *evil smile*

Employee: *very nervous and confused* I'm...glad I could help.