GRATTAN- a Gilgamesh controlled Planet, run down by years of
war. The military control the asteroid mining operation.
Asteroids in orbit around Grattan are mined for their Jijirium,
which the military uses to pay for more armaments in the
ever-escalating war with the Balarant. We join the Gilgamesh
AT Lighter "Abel", on patrol in the Grattan Asteroid Belt...
Sergeant Randol leads the AT patrol squad, made up of Private Benson
(Scopedog with Solid Shooter), Burt Buton (Scopedog), and Maxim
Hiflen (Standing Tortoise Mk II). Expecting to find
nothing, they begin their routine patrol of the asteroids.
This time however, Balarant forces have infiltrated the
Asteroids! Fatty ATs wait in ambush, hoping to disrupt
Jijirium mining in the Asteroid Belt.
Sergeant Randol steps into the trap, his Scopedog badly damaged by a
hail of rockets from the ambushing Fatty ATs.
Deftly maneuvering through the Asteroids, Burt Buton attempts to
retrieve the damaged Sergeant's AT before it drifts into deep space.
Meanwhile, Maxim Hiflen takes cover behind an Asteroid as a barrage
of rocket fire...
Damaged but not down, Maxim returns fire, unleashing missile and
Machine Gun blasts that destroy one of the Fattys.
Nearby in the Asteroids, civilian Mick Wansboro is in a primitive
mining AT. His family back on Grattan are desperate for food
and supplies, making the risky business of illegal Jijirium mining a
lucrative if dangerous option. But now Mick is caught in the
crossfire between two longstanding enemies...
Before he can be discovered by the Balarant, Mick detonates some
mining charges that cripple one of the enemy Fatty ATs.
But the disturbance attracts the attention of private Benson, who
holds the light AT at gunpoint. A point blank shot with
the Solid Shooter would be suicidal, so private Benson exits his
Scopedog to hold the renegade miner at gunpoint using his Armor
Magnum instead.
But then, heavy cannon fire hits from out of nowhere, the blast
killing private Benson and sending his body drifting out to
space... The resourceful Mick Wansboro decides he'd be safer
in the vacant Scopedog than his fragile mining AT.
The source of the cannon fire becomes clear- an experimental Heavy
Balarant AT, known informally as a "Chunky".
The Chunky opens fire on the Abel, seriously damaging the Gilgamesh
ship.
Mick Wansboro's quick thinking, and skill with his newly acquired
Scopedog AT, drives off the attacker before the ship is destroyed.
But when Mick tries to escape notice by the Gilgamesh troops, he
discovers the Roundmover maneuvering pack is damaged! Unaware
that private Benson is no longer inside, Burt Buton retrieves Mick's
Scopedog and brings it back to the Abel.
Finally, Mick Wansboro can hide his identity no longer. He
exits the Scopedog, and is captured by Lieutentant Odiah, who
assumes the worst- he must be a Balarant Spy!
