You'd had a pretty good run at Hong Kong after your Graduation. 6 Months of Paid Leave until you rotate into Service for Brants First and Finest. As the Brightest Stars of a pretty Elite Mek Academy, you're reputation preceeds you in certain cirles, and even as you touched down at the Airport, you were being courted for future contracts once your initial Year is up with Brants. After that boost came the wave of exhilleration that hit you once you hit the Social Circles in Hong Kong. As a major center for Mercenary Businesses, a lot of High Society in Hong Kong have some connection to the Mek Industry, and New Mek Officers are the newest Fad amongst the Powerfull Elite. And so there was never a dull moment. Life has been a pretty constant Party, as you flit from Opening to Premier to Exclusive Party, Meeting and Greeting.
You'd even forgotten about the clause in your contract saying you could be called up early for service, should the Company need you badly enough. Sure there were Benefits for being called up early (a $100.000 per month of Leave Lost is not to be snubbed) but now, three months Early, you are on a plane, and heading off into Service for the first time. To be more exact, you've been on the Plane for a good 27 hours now, counting stop-overs. Couped up in the back of the C-170, cold, bored and with no information except that you are off to Liverpool, where Brants is serving the last 2 Months of their 6 Month Garrison Duty, you try and keep yourselves in high spirits, but even that subsides. When it does, you sleep, uncomfortably. The next thing you see is the Pilot as he comes back with some coffee to wake you up. With a mute smile he rouses you and forces a cup of steaming Java into your hands before returning to the cockpit. 20 minutes later you have all woken up fully and wondering whats going on. Since you took off the Captain has decided to keep the covers down over the 2 windows in the hold section. Suddenly one cracks open, and bright sunlight pours through casting a multitued of rays of golden light to spear the darkness.
"Welcome to Merseyside Lads" The Captain's voice crackles over the Comms System. "Hope you like what you see....."
As you look out, you see a pretty desolate vista. Industrial Zones choke the South end of the City, and the River that runs North West to South East through the Liverpool-Birkenhead Metroplex is choked with Traffic, transporting goods to and from Liverpool. Most of these Imports and Exports head to the US, but more and more are being exported to the Combine, after the recent Buyout of Royal Ordinence (who have a Factory near Chester) and also because of the presence of the Jaguar Mek Factory (A MAJOR part of the local ecomony, and purveyors of some of the Finest Warmeks in Existance. Indeed, the Jaguar War-Games Mek Team is rated in the Top Three in the World, along with Ipex and Moore Industries, although they are considerably more expensive than either of their competators).
The North of the City has become a shanty town of sorts as it spreads further towards Blackpool, and as you head East towards Manchester you find a mix of Industrial Zones and Homes. This is where the majority of the Employed population Live, and as such, it is quite safe, with good policing and services. The centre of Liverpool has become somewhat of a dead zone with the collapse of the British Stock-Market. The big financial institutions there did not weather the initial stages of the Independance War, and that has left the area to be reclamied as housing by some of the more criminal minded. It is here that the Black Market has its headquarters in the North West. Even though the market would, strictly, be illegal under British Law, the Forces that Be let the criminals alone. From what you could dig up back in Hong Kong about Brants current assignment, it sounded like the Government Forces in the area have some kind of agreement with the Black Market. The Government Forces have been able to get hold of some pretty interesting things lately (stuff like Intel, and some pretty nice Mil Grade Gear for some of the UK-Independants fighting the good fight further north into the Borders Staging Area), and rumours say that they were obtained through "Someone in Liverpool."
As for the Borders Staging Area, that is something of a misnomer. The area just north of the Carslisle/Newcastle Line has become something of a problem to the UK forces recently. With Edinburgh being Pro-European, it has meant that EF forces have been able to land a sizeable force in the North. Enough to mount occasional Harrying Raids into North England at least. Some of these attacks have gotten as far south as Preston, but you haven't heard of anything getting any further.
So, as you glide in to John Lennon Military Airfield, you have your first Glimpse of home for some five and a half years.
"We're Landing in Five Minutes People. Everyone and everything in its Place right now people. JL has been upgraded to Hot status in the last five hours, so things could get a little scary."
You'd even forgotten about the clause in your contract saying you could be called up early for service, should the Company need you badly enough. Sure there were Benefits for being called up early (a $100.000 per month of Leave Lost is not to be snubbed) but now, three months Early, you are on a plane, and heading off into Service for the first time. To be more exact, you've been on the Plane for a good 27 hours now, counting stop-overs. Couped up in the back of the C-170, cold, bored and with no information except that you are off to Liverpool, where Brants is serving the last 2 Months of their 6 Month Garrison Duty, you try and keep yourselves in high spirits, but even that subsides. When it does, you sleep, uncomfortably. The next thing you see is the Pilot as he comes back with some coffee to wake you up. With a mute smile he rouses you and forces a cup of steaming Java into your hands before returning to the cockpit. 20 minutes later you have all woken up fully and wondering whats going on. Since you took off the Captain has decided to keep the covers down over the 2 windows in the hold section. Suddenly one cracks open, and bright sunlight pours through casting a multitued of rays of golden light to spear the darkness.
"Welcome to Merseyside Lads" The Captain's voice crackles over the Comms System. "Hope you like what you see....."
As you look out, you see a pretty desolate vista. Industrial Zones choke the South end of the City, and the River that runs North West to South East through the Liverpool-Birkenhead Metroplex is choked with Traffic, transporting goods to and from Liverpool. Most of these Imports and Exports head to the US, but more and more are being exported to the Combine, after the recent Buyout of Royal Ordinence (who have a Factory near Chester) and also because of the presence of the Jaguar Mek Factory (A MAJOR part of the local ecomony, and purveyors of some of the Finest Warmeks in Existance. Indeed, the Jaguar War-Games Mek Team is rated in the Top Three in the World, along with Ipex and Moore Industries, although they are considerably more expensive than either of their competators).
The North of the City has become a shanty town of sorts as it spreads further towards Blackpool, and as you head East towards Manchester you find a mix of Industrial Zones and Homes. This is where the majority of the Employed population Live, and as such, it is quite safe, with good policing and services. The centre of Liverpool has become somewhat of a dead zone with the collapse of the British Stock-Market. The big financial institutions there did not weather the initial stages of the Independance War, and that has left the area to be reclamied as housing by some of the more criminal minded. It is here that the Black Market has its headquarters in the North West. Even though the market would, strictly, be illegal under British Law, the Forces that Be let the criminals alone. From what you could dig up back in Hong Kong about Brants current assignment, it sounded like the Government Forces in the area have some kind of agreement with the Black Market. The Government Forces have been able to get hold of some pretty interesting things lately (stuff like Intel, and some pretty nice Mil Grade Gear for some of the UK-Independants fighting the good fight further north into the Borders Staging Area), and rumours say that they were obtained through "Someone in Liverpool."
As for the Borders Staging Area, that is something of a misnomer. The area just north of the Carslisle/Newcastle Line has become something of a problem to the UK forces recently. With Edinburgh being Pro-European, it has meant that EF forces have been able to land a sizeable force in the North. Enough to mount occasional Harrying Raids into North England at least. Some of these attacks have gotten as far south as Preston, but you haven't heard of anything getting any further.
So, as you glide in to John Lennon Military Airfield, you have your first Glimpse of home for some five and a half years.
"We're Landing in Five Minutes People. Everyone and everything in its Place right now people. JL has been upgraded to Hot status in the last five hours, so things could get a little scary."
