Dark Fire was the first Mekton game done by Elmer Studios, even though it was in old Mekton II/MTS. Dark Fire was very heavily based on the Caravan Kidd comic, by Johji Manabe. I took the basic storyline and characters, and added mecha and the PC's organisation, but the rest remained basically the same.
On the planet Belter III, the militaristic Helgebard Empire has been expanding for the past year across the northern continent, conquering all in its path with its superior military technology. But the expansion has ceased while Helgebard agents search for someone. In the city of Ekami, far from the front lines, small-time actor Peloquin and his co-star are waylaid by Helgebard agents, but are saved by Ben White. Ben introduces Peloquin to the Dark Fire squadron, a secret team established by Dr. Kerin Scerius and her husband Jack, intending to halt any Helgebard aggresion towards Ekami. Peloquin becomes a member of the squadron, and is trained in the use of their mecha.
Venturing back to Ekami, he meets the mysterious Mian Toris for the first time, as she flees from Helgebard agents. As thanks to Ben and Peloquin for saving her, she slaps choke collars on both of them. Mian hears of their plan to oppose the Empire, states she has similar motives, and joins the team. Not long afterwards, Peloquin is kidnapped and taken to a Helgebard fort where he is brought before the Empress Shion. Being surprisingly civil, she treats him to a huge dinner, and asks his help destroying Mian. She gives Peloquin a necklace to replace the one Mian wears, and promises to make him her husband if he does this for her. Mian attacks the fortress on foot, and confronts Shion and Peloquin alone. She is injured when a guard robot attacks form behind, and collapses to the floor.
Mian, whoever, struggles to her feet, the gaping wound in her revealing mechanical components beneath her skin. She is an android! The rest of the squadron attack the fortress, rescuing Peloquin and Mian, but Shion escapes. Afterwards, when examining Mian's body, Kerin discovers that she is made of a self-repairing alien technology, centuries beyond anything that even the most advanced Belter II technology is capable of! Another woman, Shera, joins the team but betrays them to the Empire. Imperial forces attavck their secret base, and the team barely manage to escape with their mecha badly damaged. Mian tells them her identity as a "breaker" android and her mission: to reach the capital, Kyuraweil keep, and kill the empress! After much deliberation, the team decide to head towards the capital, with their mecha stored inside a huge roadhauler truck.
Not long afterwards, Helgebard agents make a false sighting of Mian at the Smash & Bash track in the city of Villofer. Helgebbard mecha attack, chasing pro car wrecker Jake and his girlfriend Shazza (who bears a resemblance to Mian) from the city in Jake's racer, car 17½. They manage to lose their pursuers. The team is discovered in the city of Villofer that night, and are separated; Ben and Peloquin escape with Mian in stolen Sentries, whereas Jake and Kerin flee in the road hauler. Having escpaed the Helgebard forces, Ben and Peloquin salvage parts for their mecha from the Sentries. They set out towards the capital along the road with Mian. A distance from the town, they meet members of an anti-Helgebard rebel group, driving a stolen tank!
Khada, the driver, is the leader of the rebel group. The team is taken to the rebel camp, where Jake and Shazza are hiding out. Jake becomes a member of the team, and is trained to use their mecha. Another breaker, identical to Mian suddenly attacks the camp, killing Kerin. The rebels batlle Imperial forces raiding their base, and deliver a smashing defeat. They are then joined by Commander Gerund, the leader of a coalition of members of armies and navies disbanded by the Empire. The rebels set off towards the capital, anboard battleships and a carrier supplied by Gerunds forces. They clash with the Helgebard navy's prestigious first division, lead by the basttleship Frog, whao are resoundingly defeated with the Dark Fire team's aid!
Shion, faced with the possibility of the rebels becoming heroes to the people, orders their fleet destroyed in a single blow. A necleonic missile wipes out most of the rebel fleet, leaving only the carrier flagship remaining. The carrier is attacked by the 1st division again, with the Empress piloting an experimental mecha, the Kali against them. The Kali malfunctions and is forced to flee, and although Jake amnages to sink the Frog, the Carrier is destroyed. Only the Dark Fire team, Mian and a few rebel soldiers survive the battle. They make their way to the city of Panera, only an hour's flight from Kyuraweil keep, where they find themselves being followed around by crowds of citizens. Mian is revered as a hero for her stand against the Empire. Jake and Peloquin drag her onto an Empire-wide chat show, where she singlehandedly incites a revolution! Jack Scerius is injured as the team clashes with Imperial forces, and repels them from the city.
The team takes off for the capital in their mecha, and are intercepted by Shion in the Kali. After a ferocious battle, the Kali is defeted and they land inside the keep. Mian, Jake and peloquin make it to Shion's throne room, where she confronts them with the other breaker. Shion reveals herself to be an Imperian android, sent by the Ra Imperium to take control of Belter III and drain it of all its energy. She tells tham that Mian's only mission is to destroy her for going out of control, and that her only crime is wanting to be free. Mian and shion then fight, but Shion defeats Mian, cutting off both her arms and destroying her control necklace!
Shion has Mian installed in Kyuraweil keep's power core, to control the massive energy cannon that comprises the keep's center. A ship appears in orbit, which Shion identifies as a Ra energy collection ship. The cannon is fired, and the Ra ship is destroyed in a massive nuclear explosion! Shion leaves Jake and Peloquin to say their goodbyes to Mian. They climb into the central core of the keep, and find Mian fused to the wall. She begs them to release her, by removing the replacement necklace that Shion put on her. She confesses to Peloquin that she had grown to love him over their crazy journey, and that if she isn't freed to destroy Shion, the Imperium will burn Belter III to a crisp!
With the necklace removed, Mian breaks free from the power core, setting it to destruct. She steals the other breaker's sword while Peloquin and Jake destroy it. Mian confronts Shion again, (as Jake, Ben and Peloquin down a 12 course banquet in under 3 minutes) and manages to destroy her. With her power fading, Shion tells Mian that all she wanted was to be free from their creators, a freedom Mian has found in her love. Mian, Peloquin and Jake find Ben, and they all start to flee from the crumbling fortress. Mian removes the choke collars from Peloquin and Ben, and tells them that they were only sensor packs, used to record their mental activity for programming new androids, as she was based on a human. The keep explodes before they can flee, but Mian uses the last of her energy to protect the other three. As they fade out of conciousness, Mian tells Peloquin to find her some day...
Peloquin, Jake and Ben awake, alone, in a field some distance from the keep. Sober and broke, they head for a nearby city, Ekoda, to find some way home. As Ben looks for friends in the city, Jake and Peloquin wind up in a bar. A fight breaks out somehow between a group of local roughnecks... And Mian! As the police break up what has become a huge brawl, they flee with Mian, who claims she can't remember them at all. They meet up with Ben, and Mian's sister... a familiar woman named Shion. And as the camera pans back over the city, we hear them getting acquainted with their new, human friends...
Peloquin:
The primary PC of the game, Peloquin was played by Mark Seldon. A gruff but friendly man, Peloquin always tried to be serious but had a mischeivous side that slipped out now and then. Honest and good-natured. Peloquin started out as a small-time actor, and was filming his first major role when interrupted by Helgebard agents. He took well to the Dark Fire team, and became close friends with Jake and Ben White. He wound up caring for Mian, despite her rash and violent nature.
Jake:
The secondary PC in the game, Jake was played by Alex Fauth. Jake drinks BEER brand Beer (his major sponsor) and destroys racing cars for a living. Jake joined the rebellion when they started chasing him because his girlfreind resembled Mian. He once tried to crack onto Shion before she became Empress, but she turned him down for a dinner date. This resulted in him later re-shaping Peloquin's ugly skull with the butt-end of an armour buster rifle, when he found out about their deal. He was tall, strongly built and had sholder length blue hair.
Ben White:
A talented, if overwieght mechanic, Ben did most of the mechanical work on the Dark Fire mecha. A ver friendly, good-natured and good-humoured man, Ben was always in a cheery mood, sometimes annoyingly so. He also possessed extraordinary luck, and odd skill with a bow. His favourite topic was telling people constantly about the time he won his district archery contest in high school. Ben became very close friends with Peloquin and Jake, and kept trying to crack on to Mian, despite the number of times she beat him off.
Mian Toris:
An android of alien manufacture, she possessed incredible fighting skills. Her body was able to withstand incredible amounts of damage, including absorbing small-arms fire, and could regenerate at a fast rate. Mian herself wielded a powerfull broadsword. She was rash, violent and very short-tempered. She seemed good-humoured at times, but always kept people at a distance. Dispite her programming and devotion to her function as a breaker android, she found herself falling for Peloquin. The woman she was based on shares all her characteristics, and developed feelings for Peloquin as well.
Shion Toris:
Also an alien android, as an Imperian shion was weaker but more intelligent than Mian. She managed to access restricted areas of her memory, and felt a great desire to be free. She discovered the Breaker function; five identical androids sent to monitor her and destroy her if she went out of control. She hacked into the breaker system, destroying all but two of them, one of which she captured and reprogrammed. Shion was always cold and emotionless, dealing with genberals and would-be assassins alike. Although she was killed, she inspired Mian to seek freedom in her last moments.
Kerin Scerius:
A former Helgebard technician, she rebelled and fled the empire with her husband when she discovered a new empire technology. She built this thought control system into her own designs, the Dark Fire mecha. Always curt and businesslike, she studied Mian's body and discovered her alien origins.
Jack Scerius:
Formerly a squad leader in the Helgebard air force, he fled with his wife. He becasme the leader of the Dark Fire team, and trained Ben, Peloquin and Jake to pilot their mecha. Always seriuos but good natured. Good friends with Ben.
Khada
Leader of a rag-tag group of rebel soldiers comprised mainly of orphans of the Helgebard invasion. She was always serious-minded, and dedicated to the rebel movement.
Shera
A young woman and fan of Peloquin's who became his lover and a member of the Dark Fire team. She betrayed them to the Helgebard empire, but was killed in the ensuing battle.
Dark Fire Mecha:
The four mecha of the Dark Fire team were highly technologically abvanced machines, capable of transforming between fighter, humanoid and hybrid modes. They were controlled by a revolutionary thought control system, stolen by Kerin Scerius when she fled the empire which gives them maneuvrability beyond almost anything else on the planet. They are all equipped with missile racks mounted in each arm and leg, and one or two hevy-duty back-mounted plasmacannons. All save the firestorm are equipped with a plasma sword, and the firemoth is the only one lacking a rapid-fire laser rifle.
Sentry:
The basic soldier mecha of the Helgebard empire, the Sentry was churned out in enourmous numbers. Well armoured and of fair maneuvrability, it was lacking in its weak weaponry and inability to fly.
Rampage:
The juggernaught of imperial mecha, the rampage was heavily armed and armoured, and was even capable of stable flight. It was sorely lacking in maneuvrability, and its thruster array was found to be extremely vulnerable to enemy attacks. It also fared poorly in close quarters. The Rampage was often seen accomanying Sentry teams or double-teaming enemies with Jackals.
Jackal:
Originally designed only as a scout mecha, the Jackal's fair arnaments and excellent speed resulted in this design's frequent use on the battlefield. It was equipped with a small shield to protect agasinst heavy enemy fire, and had a powerfull thruster assembly enabling it to fly. However, the Jackal's armour was very weak and it suffered from a volatile engine.
Jaguar:
A beast-formed assault mecha, the Jaguar saw limited production within the empire. It's maneuvrability was impressive, and it was equipped with a powerfull array of weaponry. The Jaguar suffered from a lack of flight capability and high cost.
Crusher:
The Crusher tank is an enormous vehichle desinged in the pre-empire days before fusion reactors and lasers that worked properly. Its cannon was backed up with an enourmous missile array, and it used a poor anti-infantry laser for support. When used by the Helgebard forces, the design was modified to incorporate four small combat drones.
Hornet:
A sophisticated, but flawed interceptor design. The Hornet was originally designed by the empire to be a powerfull interceptor. However, it's poor range and severe dependace on ammunition saw it relegated to defensive or support roles.
Kali:
The Kali was a technological nightmare. Based around incredibly shaky principles, the kali was a monstrous humanoid design with six sword-weilding arms. The swords were co-ordinated to strike simultaneously, as were its backup weapons, four powerfull shoulder-mounted plasmacannons. It was piloted by Empress Shion and the re-programmed Breaker android. Due to its highly dubios nature, it suffered from a number of technical problems.
Mecha Statistics for Dark Fire.
Dark Fire is part one in the Helgebard trilogy.
Caravan Kidd™ story and art Copyright 1994
Johji Manabe and Studio Katsudon. English Translation Copyright
1994 Studio Proteus and Dark Horse comics inc. All rights reserved. Used
without permission. This material is in no way meant to infringe on aforesaid copyrights.
Read it, it's funny!