Five Parsecs from Home – Episode 9: “Mech Graveyard”

Starfire Scoundrels Campaign Turn 9 – also called into the jungle...

The secretive group’s dead-drop hit the Vanguard’s comms like a cold knife between the ribs. No face. No name. Just coordinates deep in the canopy and one line that made Aria’s scar itch:

“Iron Veil Recovery is inbound on the old Unity heavy mech. Data core in the cockpit holds black-site transport manifests from the Vita Synth prototype era. Secure the core intact before they arrive. Danger pay only if the core comes back undamaged. Corporate spook riding with them — kill him and his corp, Vesperon Arms, puts a bounty on you. Worth it if you want the leads he carries.”

Aria stared at the drone feed. The mech lay half-swallowed by glowing muck — gray-and-yellow Unity relic, cockpit cracked like a broken jaw, one massive arm still raised like it died mid-swing decades ago. Vines thick as cables choked the plating. No lights yet. No perimeter. But Iron Veil’s dropship signature was closing fast. This was a race.

 

She looked at her crew in the bay, voice dropping low and rough-silk.

“Dice hate us tonight, loves. Extra teeth, rattleguns, axes, and a spook worth twice the lead. We beat them to the core, we get paid and whatever ghosts the mech is hiding. Kill the spook that is with them and his corp is sure to be pissed.  But he is carrying information that may be worthwhile”

“Also, mark this bounty” - Hex flashed her bounty chit. “One of their heavy's on my list. 2 credits if he drops ugly.”

“No need to wipe every last bastard — just don’t let them touch that core.”

Pod doors hissed. Thin air clawed their lungs. The canopy swallowed them whole.

Elite team. 10 total:

·         Captain and Lieutenant with shatter axes

·         Two rattlegun specialists (those bastards suppress like demons).

·         Three grunts with military rifles. Two with Flak Guns

·         Corporate spook in unmarked armor—cold, watchful, hovering near the cockpit hatch. Kill him, and you get a quest rumor + new rival (his corp ties lead somewhere nasty).

 

Crew is NW corner, Iron Veil SE corner

 

The Drop – Initiative Seized

Voss and Hex took the center route, boots pounding straight for the mech through thick glowing ferns. Kai and Korra held north, using the vines for cover and overwatch. Jax and Elias flanked south, creeping through the undergrowth to hit the enemy from the side.

Iron Veil’s dropship roared in seconds later. Ten elite bastards spilled out — Captain and Lieutenant with shatter axes gleaming, two rattlegun specialists already scanning, five grunts with military rifles and flak guns, and the corporate spook in unmarked armor, moving fast for the cockpit.

Iron Captain orders crew to take the mech before the Scoundrels
 

Round 1 – Three Crew Goes Fast

Hex moved like liquid shadow, new hyperblaster up (Ebon Veil black-site special, still warm from the last fight). Only one target in her line: the corporate spook stepping into the open. She didn’t blink. One clean shot. The spook’s head snapped back before he could even open his mouth. First kill. Unique individual. Hex whispered, “Bounty’s just there next to the fresh corpse.”

Korra pushed north through the vines, rattlegun roaring across the entire clearing. One rattlegun specialist across the map turned into red mist mid-step. Korra muttered “Bounty claimed,”

Iron Veil spread out fast. Their captain led the grunts straight for the mech — two shots at Hex, two at Korra. Hex took a hit square in the chest. Deflector Shield flared; the shot never landed. The rest missed.

Kai slid into position from the north, shell gun barking. The area round erupted right in the captain’s face. One grunt dropped dead. Another staggered, stunned.

Voss charged the mech wreck from center, new hyperblaster singing. She put three rounds into the captain’s chest. He turned into paste against the rusted plating.

 

Round 2 – Two Crew Go Fast

Voss kept moving, hyperblaster barking again. The second rattlegun specialist dropped hard. Korra pushed through the jungle cover like a tank and pasted the lieutenant — shatter axe flying from his dead hand.

One flak gunner reached the mech and unloaded on Korra. She held her ground, took one stun, and laughed that dry Murderbot laugh.

The second flak gunner swung on Voss. Three solid hits. Voss ate all three stuns. Her first luck point burned — she dove behind wreckage just as the remaining grunts mag-dumped where she’d been standing. Second luck point gone. She hit the dirt hard, breathing heavy, but still breathing.

Jax crept around the mech from the south, machine pistol up. Three shots at the flak gunner on the wreck. All misses. Elias slid in behind her and finished the bastard with his own flak gun.

Hex moved up to cover Voss, hyperblaster singing. The other flak gunner dropped.

Kai and Korra pushed forward together from the north, unloading on the new threats — stunning the remaining rattlegun and one grunt.

 Flak Gunner takes aim

Battle Event – Reinforcements Arrive

A fresh special and grunt dropped from the trees. Iron Veil wasn’t done yet.

Round 3 – Three Crew Go Fast

Jax and Elias slid around the wreck from the south. Machine pistol and flak gun barked. The last two grunts went down screaming.

 

Taking the flank
 

The reinforcements moved up. Rattlegun roared at Hex. Three hits — pure stuns. Neural Optimization implant laughed at them. The flak gunner connected hard. Hex’s luck point burned — she dove into the mech pile, bruised but alive.

Kai and Korra moved up fast from the north, unloading on the new rattlegun and flak gunner. Both stunned hard.

Run meatbags 

Round 4 – The Withdrawal

The two surviving Iron Veil bastards looked over the bloody corpses of their comrades, the mech core still untouched, and made the smart choice. They ran for their dropship like the jungle itself was chasing them.

Voss and Hex, both battered, bruised, and out of luck, let out the same exhausted sigh. Voss cracked the cockpit, pulled the data core, and froze.

“Well, fuck me gently… what’s this?”

Quest Rumor secured — the mech’s core contained old Vita Synth manifests pointing straight to a hidden cache on Lumara Verge’s smart-forest core.

 

Victory

Jax rifled through the smoking corpse of the corporate spook and yelled, “Hey Cap, get over here… check this shit out.”

Second Quest Rumor secured — the spook’s data-slug named a new rival corp and a shadow buyer already hunting the same echoes.

 This guy never knew what hit him

 

 Come out to the jungle, meet new people...kill them...

 

Post-Battle – Mech Graveyard

Danger pay hit the account hard. 9 credits total (base + danger + bounty + loot). New rival locked: Vesperon Arms — major weapons contractor that wants to weaponize bio-tech. They now have the Starfire Scoundrels on their shit list.

Loot: one Concealed Blade (flak gunner’s personal toy) + 2 credits of debris.

XP: Hex +5 (first kill was the unique spook), everyone else +3.

Campaign Event: Some wide-eyed admirer from Lumara Verge wants to join the crew. Voss took one look and said “No thanks.”

Character Event: Local friends — Jax made some new contacts in the Root Market while slicing nets. +1 XP and a quiet favor owed.

Voss stood on the swaying platform, data core in one hand, new hyperblaster still warm in the other, scarred face lit by the pulsing canopy glow.

“Marek’s copy is still out there. Iron Veil’s just the warm-up. We’ve got two fresh rumors burning holes in our pockets and Vesperon Arms putting a bounty on our heads. Good. Means we’re doing something right.”

She looked at her crew — battered, bloody, still standing.

“Strap in, loves. Lumara Verge isn’t done with us yet. And neither are the ghosts.”

To be continued…