The Scarman Enigma

[|Scarecrow|]

Kurt Manning sat on board the Thunderhawk transport as it fell down Los Angeles atmosphere. On either side of him sat Marcus Scarman and Thomas Serov. The Liberty dropship was carrying the ground team down to the surface, destined to land in the Los Angeles international spaceport in just less than five minutes. Admiral Wilder sat across from Manning, a man Kurt had little background knowledge of. The mysterious future-man had seemed to keep himself away from the Bounty Hunter, for reasons Kurt didnt bother to ponder upon. Aside from that, the two men were civil and Manning held nothing against the Admiral. Thomas Serov was also a shady character, keeping himself to the others and not speaking directly to Manning if he could help it.

Kurt noticed similar behavior from many of the others, and he knew the Fleet Admiral didnt trust him. The only people he felt he could rely on directly were Reinhardt, Scarman and Anderson. Scarman he liked, after the two men had saved each others lives on a number of occasions. They both shared a sense of value in each other, an emotion he felt was justified by their past encounters, however sometimes a little one sided. Despite Kurts appreciation for what Marcus had done for him, throughout his life he had learned to be wary of everybody and not to give away as much as he had too. He felt that his philosophy applied and that perhaps Marcus was placing just a little too much trust in him. On the other hand however, Scarman was a good laugh and Kurt liked a man with a quick wit. Kurt also liked the young Captain Scarman was always floundering around, finding her shapely figure and strong personality rather appealing.

Reinhardt was a man Kurt respected. At sixty nine, the man had seen an awful lot in his time, wars, strife and conflict being nothing but a sideshow. Nanoscopic medical treatments and muscle boosting had kept the old man in good shape, showing Manning what patience and a little savings could hold for him in his own old age. Reinhardt was a solitary man and had a lot of experience, just the type Manning aspired to be. The only thing that held the Rheinlander back was his awkward sense of pride, stapling him down and branding him another fool suspended by morality. Kurt was not by any means an evil man, but he was comfortable with morally grey and didnt plan on leading his life on some righteous justice quest. He hoped to leave the Freedom Fighters and get back to bounty hunting as soon as he felt his debt to Scarman had been paid.
Anderson however he felt to be a fool. The man seemed a little na?ve at times and often didnt demonstrate his rank. If it werent for the constant examples of bravery, courageousness and sheer luck the man would probably have been killed long ago.

He was knocked from his thoughts as the Thunderhawk banked sharply and the engines gave an uncertain howl before thrumming back into a steady background hum. He felt a sharp loss of attitude and then a dramatic decrease in speed. Soon enough, the feeling of the landing struts coming into contact with hardened rockcrete thumped beneath his feet and the sound of hydraulic pressures being released soon filled the cramped troop compartment. The catches on his harness suddenly released him and retreated back into the seat. He stood up slowly and followed Serov towards the main entrance. With a hiss, the catches on the main entry were released and the large doorway swung down to the ground, slamming into the floor with such a force that it cracked the hard surface of the spaceport.

Manning followed Serov down the ramp, shielding his eyes and straightening his back. A heat haze lay all around them, amplified by the scorching sun hanging directly overhead. Commercial liners and interplanetary cruisers sat on landing struts being refueled or boarded. Other vessels and planes lifted off or taxied down the runways, a thunder of noise following them and drowning out any other sounds.
We need to get to the bunker! Marcus shouted over the din, a pair of antiflash sunglasses shielding his eyes from the glare. We can contact Edge from there and organize a transport.

Around half an hour ago, Victoria Wade had made it into the Senators private LA residence and met with the alternate version of Marcus Scarman. After things had been cleared, she had contacted the Yorktown and called for Scarecrow to come down immediately. Fleet Admiral Merlow had stayed back on board along with Admiral Anderson, leaving Marcus, Thomas and Jayce Wilder to come down to the planets surface. Marcus had asked to bring Kurt along with him for extra security, along with a detail the Freedom Fighter Marine Core.

Senator Scarmans men will be waiting for us in one of the spaceports audience rooms, the flight controller here has agreed to help us in any way he can. Marcus continued to shout over the noise. Once we meet up with Scarmans men, well be lead to his residence and meet up with Captain Wade. She will have told the Congressman everything; we need to prove it to be true as he probably wont be too convinced. We cant harm this mans campaign, but he also might be of great help to us when installing ourselves and indeed the civilians we have in cryostasis into society.
Marcus finished yelling just as a nearby orbital jump-jet reached the beginning of a runway. The howl from the engine drowned out any other sound as a large flame exploded from its rear end. With a deafening roar, the jump-jet accelerated along the runway and began to take off. Manning watched it go for a moment before following the others to a trio of carts that lay waiting for them at the end of their landing platform.

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| S C A R E C R O W |

"See you space cowboy..."