CHARLES GIDEON
SARAFUTSU CENTER FOR REST AND WELLBEING
DUMARING
DRACONIS COMBINE
7 SEPTEMBER 3145
Mamoru Uchida tugged at the bottom of his uniform
jacket, pulling flat any wrinkles, as he read his name
tape once more. The surname appearing there was
not his, and he silently hoped his commander never
realized Mamoru had liberated the uniform from
his locker. Brad would understand, if he ever found
out, but he would be honor bound to report this, and
command would not be as forgiving.
“Chu-i Juliani?” the orderly asked without looking
up from his clipboard. “You may see the patient now.”
Mamoru wordlessly fell into step behind the
orderly as they began down a long empty hallway
with walls and floor of white tile. Metal doors broke
up the walls every three meters on both sides of the
hallway. Though he kept his eyes dutifully locked
forward, Mamoru could see faces in several of the
doors’ windows. Some faces were curious, others
wild eyed but mostly they were frightened.
“Tell me,” Mamoru said after quietly clearing his
throat, “how has the patient been? Any change in
his prognosis?”
“No sir,” the orderly replied over his shoulder.
“He’s polite and cooperative so long as the attack
doesn’t come up. Poor man, he really got his mind
scrambled out there. I assume that is why you are
here? We haven’t had any visitors for him in a few
months.”
“Hai,” he answered, keeping his voice stoic
and respectful despite the guilt he felt in his gut.
“Command is preparing to make a final determination
in his case. I wish the notes from your doctors would
suffice, but a final interview is mandatory. With what
you say, it will likely be only a formality.”
The orderly gave a knowing nod as he stopped
at one of the doors and began shuffling through the
many keys that hung from the large ring attached
to his belt. Mamoru rested a hand gently on the
orderly’s shoulder, leaning closer. “There may be
matters discussed during this interview that are
military secrets,” he said in a low voice.
“Don’t worry about it,” the orderly waved away
the concern. “We have already disabled the camera
in the room. We’re well aware of interrogation
protocols.”
Mamoru gave an appreciative nod and stepped
back. The orderly soon found the key and unlocked
the door. With practiced ease he pulled the door
open and stepped inside. Mamoru counted to
three and followed the orderly inside. He wanted
to make sure the patient was oriented before making
himself known.
“Mr. Uchida, a Chu-i Juliani is here for you, sir,”
the orderly said as Mamoru emerged through the
doorway.
Inside the room was a lacquered metal bed with
a thin mattress and sparse blankets and a utilitarian
metal chair. The far wall was a large transparent
panel overlooking rolling hills dotted with farms and,
in the distance, the Kurai Forest. The forest was
famous for its mammoth trees which grew to be
several meters thick and dozens of meters tall. The
breed which made up much of the forest, grew so
tightly together that it was said you could spend
days under the forest canopy without ever seeing the
sun, which was how the forest had gotten its name.
Beyond the dark looming forest, the mountains on
the horizon were backlit in the oranges and violets
of the planet’s setting star.
On the bed sat a middle aged man. His frame was
lean and looked as though it was used to carrying
more muscle than it currently did. Streaks of grey
shown at his temples, but the rest of his hair was
thick and much longer than Mamoru had seen before.
There was a brief flash of recognition in the man’s
eyes before he swiftly stifled it.
“Ah, yes. Chu-i Juliani, please come in and have
a seat,” the older man rose from the bed, gesturing
to the chair.
“Thank you,” Mamoru replied with a slight bow
before turning to the orderly. “Please return to collect
me in an hour. I will complete the interview by then.”
 “Are you sure? I can stand outside the door, but
if I leave, I will have to lock you in.”
“I am sure,” Mamoru assured as he casually
stepped to the offered chair and sat down. He turned
his gaze to the orderly, expectantly waiting for him
to go. With a small bow the orderly backed out the
door, closing it behind him. Mamoru and the patient
silently locked eyes, waiting as they listened for the
door to lock and the jingle of keys to retreat down
the hall and out of earshot.
“What do you think you are doing?” the elder
man broke the silence in a rushed whisper. “If
they find you out, you’ll be drummed out of the
military!”
“I doubt they would have let me in here if I
were wearing my own uniform, father, and I have
important news to tell you.”
“Well then, be out with it and be on your way
before anyone catches you,” his father snapped.
“In time, we have an hour. Can we start with how
have you been, father? Do they treat you well here?”
Mamoru offered.
“Of course not,” the elder Uchida snorted. “The
staff are kind enough, like the orderly who brought
you here, but this is no place for a warrior. There is
no opportunity for me to get exercise, and I have
asked them to change my room several times, but
they refuse.”
“What is wrong with your room?” Mamoru
scanned the cold, sterile environment. “Is there
something different in the others?”
“I want a room,” Uchida glanced toward the
window, “hidden from the forest.”
Mamoru’s shoulders slumped and he rubbed his
face. So the reports were right. His father had always
been shrewd and fearless but now he was jittery over
distant trees? It felt like this man he was with was a
stranger. What happened to you, father?
“Okay,” Mamoru took a deep breath and let it
out in a long sigh. “Tell me, then, what happened out
there?” he asked as he gestured towards the window
and the dark woods that went on to the horizon.
“There’s talk that command is going to court martial
you to Heishi for insubordination, because they think
this is dereliction, though they can’t prove it. When
they’re done with that, they’re going to muster you
out for being unfit for duty. No pension, no benefits.
Think of mother. What will she do?” Mamoru barked
before pausing and softening his tone. “I apologize
for not visiting, but the world has continued since
you were admitted here. I’m here now, father, and I
want-” Mamoru stopped himself and looked down.
“I need to hear it from you,” he finished as his eyes
again locked with his father’s.
The elder Uchida gave a long measuring look of
Mamoru, and after several moments, he nodded.
“Very well. I shall tell you but know that you cannot
unlearn what I am about to share.”
HŌBOKU PLAINS
DUMARING
DRACONIS COMBINE
30 OCTOBER 3144
We had been called out to investigate another
livestock mutilation, which had become increasingly
frequent over the previous several days. Steam rose
in thin whisps from the carcass and into the late-
night air as I stood around the large bovine body
with my scout lance. Shujin Leonard finished her
investigation of the corpse and stood upright. She
rubbed her bleary eyes with a forearm and gave me
a shrug.
“Chu-i, I don’t know what to make of it,” she said
as she pulled off her examination gloves. “The organs
are missing, but a lot of the meat is still there. It’s like
a backwards field dressing. I really don’t know why
anyone would go to the trouble of killing a three ton
animal and leave so much of it behind.”
“We will have to see what Kashira Moritz has
to say when he returns,” I said while I took in the
carnage one more time. The beast laid on its side.
Its ribcage was exposed and splayed out toward
me, and the two meters of ground between me and
it was covered in thick red gore. “I hope he’s quick,
we’ve never been to a mutilation scene so quickly,
and I would like to get moving while the trail is still
warm. We must catch whoever is doing this and put
a stop to it before the farmers become any more
terrified. They’re already refusing to leave their
homes at night.”
Leonard pointed past my shoulder with a
lifted chin, and I turned to see Moritz running out
of the darkness. “What have you found Kashira?” I
called to him.
“They definitely used a ’Mech to carry the meat
off,” he replied when he arrived, catching his breath
between words. “The footprints continue that way
for about one hundred meters and disappear into the
river, same as before. The rocky bottom of the river
makes it hard to know if it went up or downstream.
Get this though,” he grinned. “The tracks look like
whoever these bandits are, they welded claws onto
the ’Mech’s feet. Like we’re supposed to believe it
was a wild animal or something.” The rest of the
lance snickered at the joke.
“They would have good reason to mock us,” I
said, which cut off the jovial mood. “They have been
perpetrating these attacks for several weeks and
get away with it every time. Moritz, you’ll pair with
me, and we will cover downstream. You two will go
upstream. Keep a sharp eye out for tracks leaving
the river. We will patrol fifty clicks each direction at
fastest safe speed. Radio the other pair if you see
anything, but don’t wait. We must chase this quarry
to ground as quickly as possible.”
Everyone nodded their understanding and we
climbed into our ’Mechs. My Hitman and Moritz’s
Jenner made a good pair as we hurriedly made our
way down each side of the riverbank. The ground
was firm and easy to traverse, and I was confident
we would be able to catch any ’Mech that traversed
the wide river to cover their tracks. I continuously
cycled through the imaging capabilities of my ’Mech,
making sure I wouldn’t miss any clue of our target’s
passage while my Hitman’s probe worked to make
sure we didn’t bypass a shutdown ’Mech hiding in
the river.hH
“Alpha two, this is alpha one,” I called into my
radio as Moritz and I closed on the 50 kilometer
mark. “We haven’t seen any sign here and are nearly
finished with the sweep. What is your progress?”
“Nothing so far, sir,” Leonard replied. “The banks
get steep and muddy upstream, so it has slowed
our progress.”
“Which would also make it a poor escape route,”
I posited as I scanned through maps of the regions
further downstream.
“Exactly my thought, Chu-i.”
“It appears that from my current position, the
river continues with Kurai Forest to the East and
steep foothills to the West. Either would be an
excellent place to hide a ’Mech. If we angle in from
here, we might be able to head off the bandits. Alphas
two and four, I am sending our coordinates to you.
Make your way here. Alpha three and I will see what
our active probes can pick up.” Affirmative responses
followed, and I switched to a private frequency for
Moritz. “I leave the foothills to you and your Jenner’s
jump jets. I’ll take the forest.”
“Hai, Chu-i,” Moritz responded aa he turned
his ’Mech away from mine and started toward the
foothills at a run.
I cut across the last several clicks of open
grassland at full speed, hoping to catch the enemy
’Mech somewhere along the tree line. As I neared
the edge of the forest, the immense size of the trees
became apparent. Most trees on inhabited planets
are roughly the same height as my Hitman, but
with some of these looming trees of Kurai Forest
I could have walked the ’Mech under their lowest
boughs without even rustling them. Active and
passive sensors came up with nothing, so I brought
my ’Mech to a standstill. I activated my external
microphones and listened. Over my own breathing
in my neurohelmet, I could hear the creaks and
groans of the trees in the night’s gentle breeze. I
sat listening for nearly a minute, and was about to
give up, when I heard the crashing of tree limbs. My
fingers worked over my controls to isolate the sound
band and increase the volume. After a few quiet
seconds, there it was again. The sound of cracking
trees, but without the expected heavy foot falls of
a plodding ’Mech. I broadened the sound band in
case the audio equipment was filtering it out, but I
heard nothing. I increased the volume, and still no
sound, not even the trees creaking. Increasing the
volume further, I began to wonder if my equipment
was malfunctioning now or if it had been erroneous
earlier when I’d heard snapping wood.
At first it was faint. A deep rush of air, like
someone working a bellows the size of a building or a
god working up a grand cough. As this noise repeated
several times, it increased in volume each time until a
sudden still fell across the forest. The following roar
was so intense that it shot cold, shuddering spikes
down my spine. I have seen combat on multiple
occasions and have been well within the reach of
Death, but the feeling of dread that thundering growl
filled me with was something else entirely. Looking
back now, I can see why. That roar did not carry with
it the threat of violence against a contemporary. It
was a challenge from a predator to its prey, and in
that moment, I knew I was the intended prey. It would
be a lie if I denied my fear or that it was my restraint
harness that kept me upright in my command chair,
but I did what any reasonable soldier of the Dragon
would do. I reminded myself there was no megafauna
on Dumaring and that this must be a scare tactic
employed by the poachers to throw off pursuit.
“Alpha lance,” I said once I had regained control
of my breathing, “I have strange audio pickups here.
Nothing on sensors, though. I’m going to enter the
forest to investigate. I will report in ten minutes.
Otherwise, come to this location.”
The lance confirmed receipt of the coordinates. I
entered the tree line, trying to zero in on the source
of the noise, which was a bit of guesswork, because
a ’Mech’s external microphones aren’t exactly
directional and the reverberations off the trees only
confused things. Step by step, I moved further away
from the rolling hills and deeper into the confines of
the giant trees. Every moment took me further from
the open sky and into the claustrophobic canopy. I
was only one hundred meters into the woods, and
already any visible light from the stars had been
replaced by deep shadows. The trees of Kurai have
abnormally high levels of metals in their bark, making
magscan useless, so I relied on infrared to navigate.
The thick trunks were even more disorienting in the
green 2D haze displayed on my HUD. I resisted the
urge to activate exterior lighting for fear I might tip
off the criminals. The external mics didn’t pick up any
other noise beside my Hitman’s footfalls, and I was
careful to avoid the lowest tree branches whenever
possible. I kept an eye on the probe readout, though
it stubbornly refused to give any guidance.
Then I came to an open area that was about fifty
meters across and would have been a clearing if not
for the closed net of branches ten meters above
my Hitman’s head. Through my canopy I saw two
faint red lights across the open ground, though IR
showed nothing. The lights were higher than my
own viewpoint and I watched as they slowly drifted
behind a far tree. I reset my active probe, needing it
to confirm what I had just seen, but when it booted,
it still showed nothing. With bated breath, I took a
single step into the glade. The red lights reappeared,
and this time, IR did show what lay around them.
What I had mistaken as floating lights were the
glowing eyes of a beast I couldn’t have imagined. The
eyes blazed red with malevolence and a predatory
intelligence. Their hatred crossed the open darkness,
pierced my canopy, and bored into my pounding
heart. I paused, and for the first time noticed the cold
sweat running down my face as it approached. At the
shorter range, I could make out what may have once
been a Kodiak BattleMech, but the uncannily flowing
way it moved made it clear it was no longer a dead
machine of myomer and metal. Its footfalls were
light, and its arms swung limply from the shoulder
with every weaving step it took. When it reached the
center of the clearing, it planted its feet and squared
with me.
My brain was screaming at my fingers to activate
the comms, but they refused to obey. Though my
teeth chattered, I roused my courage. But just as my
hand began to move toward the console, the thing
opened the gaping maw where its cockpit should
have been, and two long tongues of flame leapt
from within. The wail that accompanied them was
deafening, and the trees around me visibly shook.
In the light from those flames I could see its patchy
fur and the thick, goatlike horns sweeping back from
the sides of its head. The moment lasted an eternity
as my mind raced, trapped inside my numb body.
Willing myself to action, I began to backpedal,
but it pursued in a low, loping run. I fumbled with my
controls to bring the Hitman’s arm up to unleash the
lasers there, but the beast was too fast. It covered
the space between us in a few bounds and caught the
Hitman’s arm in one of its massive, clawed hands. I
pulled the firing trigger in futile desperation, but the
trio of beams wasted themselves into the ground
between us. The creature wrenched my ’Mech’s arm
forward and hewed it clean off at the elbow with a
swipe from the other claw. I screamed into my cockpit
and tried to continue my retreat but backed against
a tree which stood resolutely against my passage.
The Kodiak flung the detached arm to the side
and twisted toward me. The glow in its eyes flashed
bright, and I pressed myself into my command chair,
fighting for any distance I could get from it. I watched
as it crouched and leapt through the air at me. Its
massive claws slammed into my Hitman’s shoulders.
My limbs flailed around the cockpit as the tree behind
me exploded into shards under the impact. There
was a moment of weightlessness as my ’Mech fell
to its back and then darkness. I am not sure if I lost
consciousness or not, but my entire body groaned
with stiff pain as I opened my eyes. There, outside
my canopy, the monster leaned close, and I knew it
could see me through the reflective ferroglass. Not
just see me, but its eyes stripped away everything
I believed was me and left me a trembling failure. I
laid, gasping for air in my neurohelmet, too afraid to
move. The hunter shifted and opened its massive
maw. Again came the tongues of flame. This time,
they danced across my viewscreen, like it was getting
a taste before taking a bite. In the glow of the flames,
its visage exuded rage, hunger, and a bestial pleasure.
At least, that is, the parts of its face which caught
the light, because at the base of the flames, where
the light should have been most intense, was simply
nothing. I have travelled on many DropShips and
peered into the depths of space countless times,
but where the enemy pilot should have been, was a
hole that was far emptier than the deepest recesses
of space.
Something about that hollow darkness called to
me, calmed my fears, beckoned me home. I knew I
would find peace within it and welcomed its coming.
The Kodiak reared back, and as it did, I lost sight of
its dark pit of a mouth. In that moment, my body
reacted automatically, slamming the ejection control.
PAINT BY KEVIN WITT
Explosive bolts blasted in rapid succession, and my
ejection chair blasted me away from my Hitman on
roaring rockets. I skipped off the ground once, that
I remember.
I awoke in my command chair, wedged against
the base of a tree. The evening chill gnawed numbly
at my bare skin. I pulled off my neurohelmet and
took in a deep lungful of air. Blood ran down my
face and I wiped it away before it got into my
eyes. The sound of grating metal surrounded me,
but I could not tell if it had just begun or if I had
just become aware of it. Everything rushed back
in a moment, and my jaw trembled despite the
pain. I didn’t want to look, but I had to see. It took
several long seconds for me to find the nerve to
look beyond my chair, and I fought down bile as I
rolled to my side to get a vantage point. The Kodiak
was still there, but it had apparently lost interest
in me. In the faint glow of its burning tongues
I could see my Hitman was still on its back. Its
torso armor had been ripped away, splayed up
toward the dark canopy of trees above. The fiend
was squatted next to it, casually ripping fistfuls of
engine and gyro from my crippled ’Mech with its
claws before devouring it piece by piece.
SARAFUTSU CENTER FOR REST AND WELLBEING
DUMARING
DRACONIS COMBINE
7 SEPTEMBER 3145
“FATHER!”
The shout startled the elder Uchida from his
story, and he looked wide eyed at his son. Just as
he had forgot his son was present while recounting
the story, he now forgot what he had been saying.
Mamoru wordlessly rose from his chair and
walked to the corner of the room. His shoulders
heaved as he took a breath and tried to release the
frustration and grief into the air.
“Do you even hear yourself?” he demanded as he
spun back to his father, despair and disgust dripped
from his voice. “A monster ’Mech ate yours? How can
you say such a thing with a straight face?”
“I can say it because it is the truth. Or is honesty
no longer a valued trait?” Uchida asked as Mamoru
rubbed his face with both hands and fought his
emotions down.
“No, it is not that. I did not come here to question
your honor,” he said as he crossed back to the chair
and carefully sat. Seeing his father now as a small,
disgraced, and self-doubting man, Mamoru collected
himself. “I’m sure there is an explanation for this. I
will help you find it, and we can explain everything
to command. There are reports coming from the
Rasalhague Dominion that they have a new medium
class ’Mech design, one with stealth capabilities and
claws for battle,” he tried to keep the hope in his
voice from becoming blatant. “That has to be what
you encountered, father.”
“Medium class you say,” Uchida said with a shake
of his head. “What I saw was easily twice the size of
my own ’Mech. Besides, I never heard tell of such a
design. Did it even exist at the time I was attacked?”
“Not according to the reports,” Mamoru slumped
in the chair, defeat written across his face. He thought
for a moment and sat back up. “But the tongues of
flame you describe could have been a flamer retrofit
performed by some bandit who came across salvage
from the Dominion War.”
“I know what a blast from a flamer looks like,” he
replied flatly. “You said you did not come to question
my honor, but I am feeling as though, instead, you
are questioning my intelligence.”
“I’m sorry,” Mamoru threw his hands up in
hopelessness, “but this doesn’t make sense! I don’t
know what to say. How do you even make sense of
this to yourself?”
“There is a tale as old as Terra itself,” Uchida
began, absentmindedly tugging at the collar of his
patient uniform. “It is said that when a bear lives too
long on its own in the mountains, it goes through a
metamorphosis. In the right conditions it will grow to
become a fierce being. No longer an animal but not
a demon either,” he glanced to the window before
continuing in a hushed tone. “They called such a
thing an onikuma.”
“A demon bear?” Mamoru half rose out of his
chair in disbelief. “You want me to believe that some
ancient myth caused a ’Mech to become a sentient
being that haunts the forest? Come on, father, give
me something I can work with,” he dropped back into
the chair. “I’m trying to save—you!”
Uchida gave a single understanding nod and rose
from his bed. He kneeled at the side of the bed and
tipped a corner off the ground. After a glance at the
door, he removed the rubber foot from the tubular
metal and withdrew something from the interior of
the bed leg. He quietly lowered the bed back to the
floor before he rose and silently walked to Mamoru,
grimly peering down on his seated son.
“You asked how I explain it,” he said as he revealed
the object tucked against his forearm. “I now ask you,
Mamoru, to explain this.”
 Mamoru sat dumbfounded as he struggled to
understand what his father held. It was about the
same thickness as his little finger at one end and
came to a fine point on the other. The color was
so dark brown it was nearly black, though the light
showed hints of blue. The flexible cylinder was nearly
the length of his forearm. He hesitantly reached out
a hand and took it. It was smooth to the touch and
quite light for its size.
“I do not understand. What am I holding?”
“I retrieved this from a jagged piece of armor on
my Hitman after my lance’s approach scared off the
bear. This is a strand of its hair. I have smuggled it
with me since that day as proof of what I saw. So
please explain it.”
“This-,” Mamoru began but was cut off by the
sound of keys jingling down the hallway. With a quick
glance at his chronometer, he realized the time. “The
hour is up,” he said with a sudden panic. He pushed
the strand back into his father’s hand. “Take this
and put it away.” He stood and moved to the door,
blocking the small window as his father returned
the item to his bedframe.
The sound of keys became footsteps which
stopped outside the door. The lock of the door quietly
disengaged, and the door swung out. The same
orderly as before looked at Mamoru disinterestedly.
“The requested hour is over, sir. Do you require
more time?”
“No,” Mamoru shook his head, looking at his
father. The pain in his eyes was hidden from the
orderly but had a visible effect on Uchida. “No, I think
there is nothing more for me here. I have no other
questions,” and turned to leave.
“I have a question for you, Chu-i Juliani,” Uchida
said, stopping Mamoru and the orderly in the
doorway. “Why this inquiry now? I’ve given this
information before. It’s all the same as my first
report. Why come for an in-person interview?”
“As I told you, Chu-i Uchida, this is the final step
before command makes their determination about
your ability to return to service.”
“You and I both know that one interview isn’t
going to change their minds. Why come here for
this? Wait, you said you needed to hear it from me.”
Uchida said. Mamoru could not bring himself to look
his father in the eye and again moved toward the
door. Understanding shone bright in Uchida’s eyes
as he realized the true reason for the visit. Then, just
a quickly, the color drained from the elder’s face and
his eyes went wide and glazed. “No... no… NO!!! This
isn’t about me or command, is it? The mutilations
have begun again, haven’t they?” He started towards
Mamoru but was intercepted by the orderly. “That’s it
isn’t it? The mutilations have restarted! The onikuma
has come down from the mountains!”
“Sir,” the orderly said through gritted teeth over
his shoulder as he restrained Uchida, “you’re going to
have to see yourself out, I told you he gets this way.”
Mamoru backed slowly out of the room. His gaze
was locked on his father and the desperate horror in
his eyes. He stood dejectedly, looking into the room
for a long moment before ripping his attention away.
Moving quickly down the hall, he was chased by the
shouts of his father, as another orderly and a nurse
rushed into his father’s room.
“Don’t go!” Uchida screamed distraughtly.
“Dragon be damned! Go AWOL! Relinquish your post!
Whatever you do, don’t go to the forest!” The door
was mercifully closed, insulating Mamoru from his
father’s frantic screams. With a sharp shake of his
head he cleared his mind before shuffling away; the
cries having sapped all his energy.
Mamoru was in a daze as he walked to his car.
After sliding into the driver’s seat, tears began rolling
down his cheeks from seeing his father in such a
state. But could a madman have been able to deduce
the real reason for my visit? Does that prove he’s sane?
It was too much to take in, and Mamoru began to
weep in a way he hadn’t since he was a small child.
Minutes went by, but suddenly, Mamoru had a sense
that someone was watching him. He quickly wiped
his face and composed himself. It would do no good
to get caught now. Glancing around, he saw there
were no other cars in the parking lot, and no one was
looking from the windows of the facility. He took a
deep breath and tried to focus, but the feeling was
still there, nagging at the back of his mind. He decided
it best to ignore it and reached up to adjust the
rearview mirror. In the mirror, he could barely make
out the rolling hills behind him in the pale twilight.
Beyond the hills, against the dark shadow of the
foothills, stood the darker shadow of Kurai Forest.
Mamoru realized from where he was being watched,
and he was overtaken by the dreadful feeling that he
would be meeting his watcher all too soon.
B