Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
3 March 3050
Erik Iolair signaled the dropship control. The door ahead of him opened up to jet black space. He pushed forward his throttle and felt the Stingray hurl forward out of the launch bay. He looked about and saw five other fighters exit the side of the Vengeance class.
"Okay, Epsilon squadron, look sharp." Said Erik, increasing his acceleration. "We’ve got unidentified bogeys on the far side of that gas giant. I want a high altitude pass through the upper levels of the giants atmosphere. We’ll come out on the other side. They’ll not be able to see us and we’ll have time to determine what to do with them."
"How many contacts?"
"No less than seven. Maybe more." Said Erik. "IFF codes are unknown and the planet scrambling our radar too much to confirm their number or to identify them."
Erik’s ship look the lead role, with Michelle’s Lightning not far behind. "Are you sure about this, Erik? Have you ever flown through the atmosphere of a gas giant?"
"Aye, Michelle, I have. We’re only going deep enough to foil their sensors."
"This isn’t going to be easy." Said Michelle.
"Come on, you didn’t think they’d send us all the way out here for a vacation, did you?"
Michelle did not answer that, but braced herself to enter the top wispy layers of the gas giant’s atmosphere. Their fighter regiment had been brought all the way out to the Tamar March to assist in resisting the last vestiges of the Rasalhague rebels.
When they arrived, they found another problem ripping through the March: the refugees. Some of them were neither civilian nor friendly. Like those on Here, many had attacked the worlds they fled to. In most cases, the attacks were easily repulsed. Erik figured this another example of those attacks. The contacts had entered the system at a Lagrange point on the far side of the gas giant, what jumpship pilots called a pirate point. The privateers and bandits of the Periphery were well versed in using such entry points. They would be easy pickings, if they chose to not surrender immediately.
His slender ship cut through the thick atmosphere of the gas giant. It began to shake as violent winds and the heavy gravity began to take hold about him. He looked back. The thick opaque clouds made it hard to see his squadron. He set a circular course around the wide planet’s perimeter, keeping below the first layers of the gas giant’s heavy atmosphere.
"I don’t like this, Erik. I can’t see a damned thing." Complained Michelle.
"Oh, come on, love. Don’t you trust me?" said Erik cockily. The pair had a budding romance simmering between them, but it had not yet progressed very far.
"ETA to cloud layer exit two minutes." Said one of Erik’s pilots.
Erik brought his weapons up to full power. He cut back on his throttle, keeping it high enough to resist the pull of the giant’s gravity. "Here, we go."
They burst out of the clouds to see seven ships. There was little light on the far side of the planet, so they couldn’t see the ships very clearly. Their radar could identify them now, but for most it came up inconclusive. Several of the ships first registered as Overlord dropships, then as Excalibur dropships. It was if it couldn’t make up its mind. Only one was positively identified, a Scout class jumpship.
"I’m taking a closer look. Everyone else, hang back."
"Leftenant, be careful. That’s a Monolith jumpship if it’s anything. It’s too big to be anything else."
The Monolith of itself was not a threat; Jumpships didn’t carry weapons. But it could carry a lot of dropships and they were likely to be armed. Michelle stuck with him, as she should, being his wingman.
As the ships grew closer, Erik realized what it was that he was seeing. "Oh, my god." He said, fear in his voice.
"What is it…." said Michelle, her voice trailing off as she too saw the ships.
The big jumpship was no Monolith. It was a long slender starship roughly the same length as the wiry Monolith class, but it was much more bulky and massive. Near it was another smaller jumpship, the Scout class the computers had identified. Five dropships floated about the craft, preparing for a burn-in for Icar’s sole inhabited planet several AU distant. The dropships appeared to be Overlord class after all, but their surfaces were smoother, as if they were some sort of refitted ship.
"My God, they’re here.” Said Erik in shock. Emblazoned on its side was a large insignia of a red wolf’s head on an orange background. He knew that emblem. He’d seen it before in history texts on New Vision: the emblem of Clan Wolf.
“All ships withdraw." He barked quickly, panic in his voice. Michelle did not understand why he was so frightened, although that large center ship made her apprehensive too.
“Who are these guys?” asked another pilot.
In seconds, the enemy ships belched out swarms of fighters. Michelle spun her ship around and began the withdrawal. "What the hell are those things?" she asked. Her computer could identify none of the enemy ships, which seemed to close on them rapidly. They would soon be upon them.
"That’s what the refugees were fleeing." Said Erik coldly, giving up on his retreat. He spun his ship around and prepared to engage. “The Clans have arrived.”
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
3 March 3050
Hauptmann Juan Miranda stormed into the command center of the 8th Arcturan Guards. Kou, Matt, and Ryan were close on his tail. Kelly was already present with General Frederic Anderson.
"Unidentified jumpships, please identify yourself and your intentions." said a communications aide.
Video transmission appeared on the monitor. The screen was split, displaying the skippers of both vessels on the monitor. Both men were dressed in fine dress uniforms of a deep green color.
"I am Khan Timur Malthus. What forces dare defend this world from the steel talons of the Jade Falcon?" said the man on the right of the screen.
"What?" said the General.
"Jade Falcon?" said Juan back towards his associates. He was out of earshot of the monitors. "Didn’t the refugees make mention of an avian insignia on the attackers?"
Ryan nodded. “This is what we feared all along.”
"Is that them?" said Juan. "The ones that destroyed your world."
Both Matt and Ryan nodded grimly. "Yeah, that’s them."
"Bold bastards, whoever they are."
"Hauptmann, I have positive id on the classes of jumpships they are using." said a nearby radar technician. "It took me a while and I had to upload the old Star League data files to do it."
General Anderson and Khan Malthus continued on, ignored by Juan. "What do you have, Sergeant?" Juan asked.
"I'm not sure, sir. The computer is saying they have a Cameron and a McKenna class warship closing with the planet. But those ships haven't been seen in the Inner Sphere for almost 300 years."
"Who the hell are these people?" said Juan, looking back at Ryan and Matt.
“You probably wouldn’t believe me, if I told you.”
A warning light went off on the computer panel. "Sir, they are deploying dropships: Four of them, roughly Overlord sized. We are under attack."
“Right now,” continued Juan. “I’ll take anything. Anything that’ll help.”
“One word: Kerensky.”
“The Star League Army that fled the Inner Sphere centuries ago?”
“Yes, that’s who they are, but they’re not as you remember them. They’ve changed and they are vastly more powerful.”
“ETA on those dropships?” Juan barked at the radar operator.
“They jumped in-system via pirate point. Those ships will make planetfall in two hours.”
“Alright.
Jiwe, Smith, get to your mechs.” He glanced at the General, who just nodded at
him. "We've got a fight on our hands. Pray it goes better than the last time
you faced them."
Matt marched his Mauler out of the hanger. Juan had his Thunderbolt and Kelly her Dervish. Both their mechs were new, sent to them to replace their lost craft from the Planting debacle. Kou pulled up with his
"I guess we're with you, sir?" asked Matt.
"Yeah, let's go see what these Jade Falcons are made of. I've got a report of a planetfall forty klicks north of here. We've got an armor platoon tying them up for the time being, but they’re outgunned. We don't know how long they will hold out."
"Understood."
"Kelly, you and Kou take point. The rest of you are with me. Let's move."
"Roger, Sergeant." said Juan. "I see them too. Got any IDs on designs yet?"
"My computer's registering them all as either unknown or indeterminable." said Kou. "I don't get it. Who are these guys?"
"You don’t want to know." Said Ryan grimly.
"Kerensky’s army returned. We always thought they’d come back, but we never imagined them like this.." Thought Juan.
Bright flashes of light appeared up ahead. "YeeeOW!" said Kou. "I just got hit hard by lasers and I'm still over 600 meters out."
"Their technology is Star League level or better," said Matt. "They’ve better range and hitting power that us."
"You could have told me that sooner." Complained Kou.
"You didn’t ask."
"Enough of the chit-chat, guys." Said Juan, his own mech getting tagged with a laser shot. "Pull back with the rest of us. We'll hit them as a group."
Kelly and Kou pulled back. Right behind them was a heavy mech, looked somewhat like Juan's Thunderbolt. It's arms were more Warhammer shaped, twin weapon barrels rather than hands. Juan let him have it with his large laser and LRM launcher. Armor peeled back from the "War-bolt," and it turned to face Juan's heavy mech.
"That's right, pal. Take on someone your own size." Snarled Juan.
Kelly unloaded her LRM launchers into another mech, one that Juan had never even seen anything even remotely similar to. It was firing heavy lasers into both Kou and Kelly.
Ryan opened fire with all three of his heavy weapons, watching his heat jump to the red zone. The shots blasted away at a vulture-like heavy mech, which returned fire with pulse lasers. Many of these mechs he’d not seen on New Vision, so they were as alien to him as they were to anyone.
Matthew Jiwe was busy blasting away at a boxy medium mech with his ER PPC and ER heavy laser. He’d seen this mech before. Almost half of the Falcon force he’d faced on New Vision had consisted of this mech. "They seem to be able to absorb a large amount of damage." Matt was trying to ascertain the extent of their technological advances. He knew that these mechs had to be as packed with high tech as the Wolverine mechs he piloted in his early training. But, even those could not pack that much armor and firepower into one shell. Not only had the Falcons made their weapons more powerful and longer ranged, but they had also made them lighter, allowing space for additional equipment.
Kou was firing his autocannon into the mystery medium he and Kelly were fighting. Although it was probably outweighed two-to-one, it was holding its own against them.
Juan hit the "War-bolt" again, three medium lasers across the upper torso. Juan knew he'd hit the head at least once. Despite being far too close, he fired his LRM again. The missiles failed to arm, but still battered across the surface of the "War-bolt," splattering rocket fuel and pounding armor. It went down, its surface coated with now burning fuel.
"They can be beaten." Said Ryan, trying to reassure both himself and his comrades, all of whom were growing frightened.
"One dow....." said Juan, but was cut off by the fire from the fifth and final enemy mech, a light.
"Dear God, that light mech has two PPCs and he's ripping me apart!" said Juan. Juan had never really felt fear in battle since his first few conflicts as a rookie. He felt that fear again.
"Ieeee!!!!!" screamed Kelly as a final blast from the mystery mech took her leg off at the knee. Her mech went down into the dust.
Kou, enraged, burned his autocannon and lasers into the mystery mech. It just tore away at more armor. "I don't get it. He's got tons of armor, no appreciable heat levels, and tons of firepower. Where is his weakness?"
Matt finished his medium off and fired into Kou's opponent. "He doesn’t have one. Just pound on him until he goes down." He let loose with his quad autocannon, smashing light rounds across the medium’s armor. It only seemed to annoy it.
Ryan had his hands full with his opponent. He had unloaded into it twice now. It was still standing and Ryan was dangerously close to shutting his mech down. He remembered the fight on New Vision. Things here seemed just as hopeless.
"No wonder those bandits had so much trouble. We're getting our ass kicked." said Kou. The mystery medium ignored the blasts from Matt and struck out at Kou's Wolverine again. The battered Wolverine couldn't take it anymore and down he went. Kou punched his ejection button and shot free of his destroyed mech.
Matt fired his lasers blast into the mystery mech. That was the final straw for the taxed medium mech. It exploded as its engine detonated, spraying armor and internal components across the battlefield.
"Retreat! All forces retreat." ordered Juan. Another PPC blast from the light mech took off his right leg and down went the Thunderbolt. Juan tried to prop himself up on his arm, but the light came up and fired both weapons into his right shoulder, blowing his arm off and finishing his mech for good.
Ryan and Matt were all that were left. Ryan still had the vulture mech to worry about. Matt hit the vulture mech hard, keeping an eye on his rising heat levels. A chance shot penetrated the mech's weakened left torso and touched off its missile ammo. As the blast enveloped the mech, Ryan switched targets firing his autocannon into the leg of the light mech Juan had so much trouble with. The mech twisted and crashed on its face.
"Let's get the hell out of here. My sensors are reading another unit of enemy forces moving in from the northwest." Said Ryan.
"I've got Kou. No time to retrieve the others." Said Matt. Kou was climbing up the leg of the Mauler, trying to reach the torso of the machine. Without hands, Matt could not easily carry him.
"They can take care of themselves. Let's go."
They
marched away, leaving the smoking remains of Juan’s, Kelly’s, and Kou’s mechs
along with their five Clan opponents.
Juan crawled out of the cockpit of his mech and ran across the battlefield to Kelly's battered Dervish. The head of the mech had taken some damage when it fell, but he hoped she was alright.
"Kelly, can you hear me?" He hit the button that would open the hatch to her cockpit but it wouldn't open. "Damn, I'll have to open it manually." He pulled open a panel and hand-cranked the hatch open.
He dropped down into the cockpit to see Kelly sitting in her seat, her hand clamped firmly against the left side of her abdomen. Juan could see the blood dripping between her fingers.
"Are you alright?"
"Took a three inch piece of shrapnel in the gut, but I'll be okay if I can get some help soon." She winced. "Hurts like a bitch."
"You need a doctor." said Juan. "Come on, let's get you out of here." He offered his hand.
She took his hand and he pulled her up to the hatch. He helped her out onto the rough dirt outside of her mech's wreckage.
Kelly tried to take a few steps, but then fell to her knees. "Kelly!" cried Juan.
"Got light-headed. Losing too much blood."
"Then I'd better get that wound patched." He headed back towards the Dervish cockpit.
"Don't bother. The medkit's jammed by debris. You'll never get it out. Get one from one of the other mechs."
Juan looked and noticed the "War-bolt" that he had defeated was the closest one. He dashed over to its cockpit and opened it.
The mech's pilot jumped when the hatch opened. Apparently, he had been readying himself to go out and investigate by putting on an emerald jumpsuit. Juan was also startled to find a living person inside and stumbled backwards.
The enemy recovered quickly and reached for his side arm. Juan, his reflexes still charged from the recent mech battle, grabbed his needler pistol from his belt and fired. The burst of thousands of tiny plastic darts hit the mechwarrior in the face, ripping his skin, muscles, and bones to shreds. The enemy dropped his pistol and fell back into the cockpit.
Juan holstered his pistol. He stepped into the cockpit and grabbed the medkit from its storage compartment on the back of the cockpit. Juan looked at the dead body of the mechwarrior and got an idea.
Kelly looked up with surprise when Juan came back over. "A change of attire?"
"When in
"Hopefully, that will hold until we get back to base. Can you stand?"
"I'll try."
"HOLD!" came a voice. Juan spun around, reaching for his needler. What he saw looked like a miniature battlemech, standing approximately 3 meters in height. On one shoulder, it had a searchlight, which at the moment it had focused on Juan and Kelly.
"Oh, I apologize, Star Commander. Are you alright?"
"Yes." said Juan flatly. He remembered the flat stoic tones their commanders had used when they contacted the 8th Guard’s headquarters and he tried to mimic it. His skills with mimicry had been useful during his days as a field agent. Now that he was in counter-intelligence, he didn’t need the skills as much, but he was thankful that he’d not forgotten them.
"You have a bondswoman. Are there others?" said the mini-mech. As it got closer, Juan could see inside the glass faceplate of the mech. There he saw the face of a woman, grotesque and oversized.
"I don't know." Juan noticed the woman frown when he said that. He wondered why and hoped his innocuous statement hadn’t blown his cover.
The woman signaled and Juan saw for the first time that there were others like her behind her in the darkness.
"This one is wounded. We must get her to a medical facility." Said the woman.
"Yes. She took a shrapnel wound when her mech went down." Said Juan. The disgusted look on the lead mini-mech pilot faded into one of unquestioning duty.
"Yes, sir, Star Commander."
Another of the boxy mechs that Matthew had defeated came up out of the darkness. It knelt down and stretched out its hand, expecting Juan and Kelly to step onto it.
The other mini-mechs returned, finished with their recon sweep. "We have accounted for no other survivors among the wreckage." Reported one.
"Stravag!" swore the woman, no doubt their leader. "Four good mechwarriors lost. These freebirth bastards have more teeth than those Periphery scum. Let us return to base."
Kelly clung to Juan as he stepped towards the mech's outstretched hand. "Juan, I'm scared." she whispered.
"It'll be alright." he said. "I hope."
Here
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
4 March 3050
"This is all that's left?" said Kou. "We've not enough mechs to make up a company."
Ryan just shook his head. "A handful of enemy mechs have sealed off the spaceport and are holding our dropships. The rest of the forces are scattered about the hills searching for us. It won't take them long to realize their mistake and come running back. If we're going to get off this rock, we've got to hit that spaceport now."
"I’m surprised we didn’t find any of them here when we arrived." Said Matt. "They’ve obviously been here."
"Must have finished off the defenders and left. Looks like the command center’s been hit. There’s not much left."
"Good bet then the General’s dead or captured." Said Kou.
"Most of these mechs are barely functional. We wouldn't stand a chance." said another mechwarrior. About a half-dozen of them had returned to the base, hoping to find their command still intact. They were badly disappointed.
"I, for one, don't want to become a POW to these Falcons." said Matt. Ryan nodded vehemently in agreement. For them, capture meant only one thing once the Falcons realized who they really were.
"They've decimated our entire regiment in less than a day." Said the other mechwarrior. "We don't know what to expect when it comes to prisoners. I'm still free. I intend to stay that way."
"We have to decide now." said Kou. "Who fights and who surrenders?"
"We’ve no choice." Said Ryan emphatically. He spoke only for himself and Matthew, but everyone agreed.
Matt surveyed the nodding heads and then turned to Ryan. "Come on. It's a ten minute journey to the spaceport. We'd better get going."
"Let's move out." said Kou. He and Ryan both boarded the Marauder.
The two boxy mediums guarding the base were of the type Ryan and Matt had faced in their initial confrontation. Matt remembered the mechs carried a PPC on one arm and a pair of missile launchers on the other. They were very fast with jump jets and heavy armor. They spotted the F-C forces approaching them and opened fire.
Matt was surprised when one of them let loose with two heavy LRM launchers. He sidestepped, hoping the spray of 40 missiles would miss his battered 80 ton mech. They did, and slammed smack into the Whitworth behind him. The little 40 tonner exploded into bits.
"Damn, down one already." said Matt, his finger twitching on his laser triggers. A bolt of bright red light tore across the missile mech's flank.
Ryan fired both his PPCs into the other, which responded in kind with its single one. Ryan threw caution to the wind and fired the autocannon on top of that, blowing the lighter mech's left arm off at the elbow.
"Take that, you son-of-a-bitch!" swore Ryan. The enemy pilot simply fired his PPC again, hitting Ryan's right torso. Ryan watched his autocannon monitor go black.
"Damn, took out my LB-10. You'll pay for that!"
The lighter mech took a running charge at Ryan. "Look out, he's charging." screamed Kou.
Ryan strained at the controls, trying to pull his mech out of the way. The enemy stopped short and opened fire with all its remaining weapons, blowing the last of Ryan's armor to powder and damaging a half-dozen critical systems.
After the barrage, Ryan had one PPC and both medium lasers left. He fired all three, but his heat and his damaged targeting system prevented him from getting any hits.
"Damn! I'm blind as a bat." said Ryan. "Another good hit like the last one and I'm history."
The enemy mech stepped back, satisfied that it had won. It raised its PPC to level the final blow.
"Oh no you don't!" said a voice. From over Ryan's head came a Hatchetman. It landed squarely in between Ryan and the Jade Falcon mech and swung its hatchet at the enemy.
The boxy mech deftly dodged the shot and stuffed its PPC into the gut of the Hatchetman. It fired, destroying the axe-wielding mech with one shot. But it bought Ryan the time he needed to lower his heat to reasonable levels. He fired his PPC and lasers again. All three hit the enemy in the right hip. Armor evaporated off, exposing polymer muscles, which ignited and burned away. The boxy mech twisted on its critically damaged leg and fell on his side. Ryan, in fury, stomped downward on his defeated enemy's head, crushing it and the pilot within.
"That was for New Vision, you son-of-a-bitch!" snarled Ryan hotly.
"Cool down, Ryan. You won." It was Jiwe, who had dispatched his foe with some help a few minutes before. Ryan caught his breath.
Ryan noticed the Falcon mechs were pulling back. He knew they’d been surprised by the sudden attack, and that they’d soon regroup. "Who'd we lose?"
"Lost three mechs." Reported Matt. That was half their force. "Only one pilot from the looks of it. Better check that Hatchetman. I'll cover you."
"No time. If he can’t make it on foot, we leave him behind."
The Clan mechs were moving in. There are been ten of them, a binary unit. Their initial attack had killed three of them. The other seven had turned, as if they’d just realized they’d only been attacked by only six enemies, only three of which were still standing.
The Hatchetman's cockpit slid open and out popped the head of its pilot. He pulled off his helmet and revealed a shock of dark brown hair. It wasn’t a he, but a she.
She took off running, leaping up to grab the leg of Ryan’s battered Marauder.
"By the way, pal." She was using her headset to talk to Ryan. "I did save your butt there. What's your name?"
"Ryan. Ryan Smith." Ryan was watching the Falcon mechs, still a little more than a kilometer away, starting to close.
"I'm Amanda Lilly. Pleased to meet you. Now let's get off this rock."
"I’m trying. But our friends seem determined to get in our way."
"Ryan, we’ll not stand up to another attack."
Ryan suddenly realized a flaw in his plan. The dropships had no doubt been boarded and their crews taken prisoner. There was was no one on those ships to get them out of here. He began to wonder if he hadn’t led these men into a death trap.
Suddenly, the sky cackled with artificial lightning. PPC bolts hurled out from the dropships into the lead Clan mech. They tore through the "War-bolt" mech, blowing it apart like a firecracker.
Facing the formidable firepower of the dropships caused the Clan mechs to fall back once more. Two of the heavier Clan mechs opened fire. Autocannon fire tore through the mountings on the one dropship’s PPC turret, knocking out the weapons.
"They’re shooting the guns. Get your asses aboard!" said a voice over the radio. Ryan could see the bottom of the dropship begin to glow. Above it, the mech bay doors were opening.
"Where were you guys?"
"When we saw you guys coming, we showed our guests the door. The armored trooper was tough, but we managed."
Ryan moved his mech below the door. He felt the docking crane clamp onto his mech hard and pull it upward. He breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed behind him. He opened his hatch and climbed out. Kou followed him out.
"It’s not over yet." The dropship shook as it began its launch.
"But it’s out of our hands now." said Amanda, coming away from her perch on the foot of the Marauder. "And I am not going to worry about it now."
Ryan shook his head at Kou. "Neither am I." He slumped against the floor as the dropship roared into space.
Here
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
4 March 3050
"Kahn Malthus, reports are coming in that we have defeated the last of the enemy. The world is ours."
"Excellent, Star Colonel. What are the reports from the other worlds we have attacked?"
"All is well. This pitiful band known as the
"Still, we will require additional forces to hit the worlds in our fourth and fifth waves. Assign those warriors dispossessed today to journey back with the Emerald Hawk to obtain Star Colonel Mechlanthon's 3rd Jaegers. We will need them to hold garrison here and then join us when the time is right."
The Falcon Colonel, one Kael Pershaw, rolled his eyes in disgust. "Yes, my Khan."
Colonel Pershaw turned towards the assembled group of mechwarriors. Juan sat quietly nearby, trying to look inconspicuous and silently praying that they would take good care of Kelly.
"You have been a bit quiet, Star Commander. Any reason?" said another mechwarrior. "Upset that an Inner Sphere freebirth defeated you?"
"We underestimated our foe. They proved to be more troublesome than some of the other enemies our forces faced." said Juan, trying to play the part. So far, he'd noticed that these mysterious warriors spoke a very formal form of English, minus contractions. That had been the reason for the armored woman’s disgust at his language. They seemed to be very honor-bound and as a result, a bit stiff. It reminded Juan of the Kurita warriors from the Draconis Combine, although more so. He also very quickly noticed their arrogance.
Juan was surprised that no one recognized him or rather that no one didn’t recognize him. Everyone seemed to take him at face value, a Jade Falcon "Star Commander," whatever that was. These people were completely guileless, and did not believe that anyone would or could infiltrate them. That was to his advantage. At least as long as he didn’t screw up.
"You seem to show an unusual concern for the bondswoman found with you. I find it hard to believe you would become compassionate for some Steiner whore."
Juan gave the man a steel-eyed look, trying to gauge what sort of response he should deliver. He never got his chance.
"Star Commanders Jacob and Oliver?" said a voice. Juan saw the Star Colonel move up behind them. Jacob snapped to attention. Juan did so as well, albeit a bit delayed. He was surprised to have been address by a name.
"If that's the best your reflexes can do, Oliver, then no wonder these Commonwealth fools bested you." said the Star Colonel. "The Khan has decreed that the 3rd Jaegers are to enter the battle. Your task will be to return with the Emerald Hawk to fetch them from their posts in the Periphery. You will be reassigned mechs upon you arrival at Butte Hold."
Juan glanced down at his lapel briefly and realized why he’d been addressed so. There was a name there: "Oliver." He felt foolish for not having seen it earlier.
"Where will the bondsman be taken?" asked Juan.
"Oliver has become quite taken with one." said Jacob. "I would guess he already wants a taste of paradise."
"You are out of order, Star Commander." snapped the Star Colonel at Jacob. "In response to your query, they are being taken back with you for indoctrination. There is not enough room at present to bring prisoners along for the invasion."
"Understood. When do we depart?" asked Juan.
"Immediately. Report to the Falcon's Claw within the hour."
One hour. That was barely enough time. Juan slipped away from the Falcon camp as soon as he was free from Jacob and the Star Colonel. He had a plan. He intended to go with these strange invaders and learn as much as he could from them. However, he would need certain items. Items given to him as a DMI agent. Most important was a small black transmitter device known in the business as a "black box." It was an advanced hyperpulse transmitter, capable of sending a message over 75 light-years.
Unfortunately, his items were stored at the Arcturan Guard Headquarters, 20 kilometers south of the Jade Falcon landing zone. He did not even know if the headquarters would even be there. He knew it had been attacked.
Juan found an overturned skimmer in the dust about a klick out of the camp. It was still functional, abandoned rather than destroyed. He stepped into the seat and fired up the swift hover-bike. A sound made him look up. An Overlord class dropship was blasting away from the Guard's spaceport and heading for freedom.
"Well, at least some of us made it." said Juan. "Go and tell the Inner Sphere that Gotterdammerung has come. The Clans have arrived."
New Avalon
Crucis March, Federated Commonwealth
8 March 3050
Hanse Davion tried to button his shirt as he walked into the command center. He blinked a couple of times to focus on the room before him. Gathered within was Minister Allard and Marshall Morgan Hasek-Davion. Also present was Hanse’s old friend Ardan Sortek and General Andrew Redburn.
"This had better be good, Justin. It’s four in the morning."
"It is." Said Justin. "Before I begin, can I speak with you privately?"
Hanse nodded. They walked over to a corner of the room.
"I need your permission to declassify some data for this briefing."
"Which data?"
"Our analysis of the ruins on New Vision, the home of those refugees that attended NAMA."
"Yes, I remember. Messer and the others. Why?"
"You’ll see. Your permission?"
"Given." Said Hanse, a look of concern on his face. They walked back over to the rest of the men.
Justin began, punching up a holographic map of the Inner Sphere. A large portion of Steiner worlds were highlighted. "I’ll be brief. Reports have been trickling in from the
"What!?" exclaimed Ardan Sortek. "That’s impossible!"
"Has ComStar cut off contact or have then been prevented from transmitting?" asked Redburn.
"They’ve been prevented." Said Justin. "Because transmissions stopped too abruptly for it to be anything but."
"Who?" asked Marshall Hasek-Davion. "Rasalhague? They can’t field the forces for an attack of that magnitude." He almost added the obvious. "No one can."
"We’re not certain." Answered Justin. "We do have transmission from Wotan, showing the attackers. The forces that have managed to retreat have assembled there."
The lights dimmed and the video projector sent the images against a blank wall. The men stared at the image, ignoring the even more prominent laser projection of the Inner Sphere. A lance of mechs filled the screen, two Wolverines, a Grasshopper, and a Wasp. It was a standard mixed lance. Off in the distance, the silhouettes of the enemy mechs could be seen.
At the bottom of the screen appeared the name of the world and the date:
The mech opened fire at a range of 400 meters, tearing into the Grasshopper.
"No mech can carry a heavy autocannon and six large lasers." Exclaimed Ardan Sortek in surprise. "Who the hell are these people?"
Telemetry on the mysterious mech came in. It was only 55 tons, a medium class mech. The watching generals were dumbfounded.
The video continued as the alien mechs completely destroyed the lance in less than two minutes. Justin rewound the video to focus back in on that medium. "Comstar has tagged this mech the Ryoken, or ‘devil dog.’"
"That sounds like a Kurita name."
"It is. There’s a reason for that." Justin turned back to the holo-map. He punched a number of keys on the computer keyboard and the map changed. Worlds in the Draconis Combine and
"Data from our spies in Rasalhague and the Combine has found rumors of similar attacks on all of these worlds. Chances are good the Comstar name has come from DCMS troops who’ve faced this mech."
"Who the hell are these people?" asked Morgan, his patience at an end.
"We have a theory." Said Justin. He fast-forwarded through the video to focus on one of the other mechs. "This one has not been nicknamed yet. But….." Justin turned off the holo-map and a new 3-D image replaced it. It was a mech schematic, incomplete and apparently battle-damaged.
"Where did you get this?" asked Ardan. The mech on the video and the schematic were the same.
"An anti-piracy unit sent into the Periphery two years ago came back with this from a planet named New Vision. The planet had been the site of a huge battle between the planet’s inhabitants and these invaders. We’ve been analyzing this machine ever since."
"What are your conclusions?"
"It is far more advanced than anything fielded by us or anyone in the Inner Sphere. This mech is 30 tons, making it a light. But it carries what appears to be an autocannon, an SRM launcher, and a large laser. It’s head was removed in the battle, so we have no way of studying their computer technology. But it’s physical structure consists of ferro-fibrous armor and endo-steel skeleton, more compact and efficient than those systems just now coming off our drawing boards. It also carries double-strength heat sinks, much more compact in size than ours."
"No wonder they’re blasting right through us. But we still don’t know who they are?"
"This is an Nth generation mech, developed from our own technology only several generations more advanced. Unless ComStar has really been busy, there’s only one group in existence that could develop a mech like this."
Hanse finished the sentence for him. "Kerensky’s armada."
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
30 March 3050
Despite her early reluctance, it had not taken Lisa long to succumb to Robert’s charms. He reminded her a lot of both Daniel and Joshua, only older and more mature. One date turned into two and then three. Two months had now passed and Lisa had grown comfortable at Robert’s side.
She did feel some pangs of guilt over her broken promises to Joshua, but she had heard little from him, his last communication being just before the ball. She figured he’d moved on as well and that was the way things were going to be.
Lisa stretched lazily and reached over to pat the empty spot beside her in bed.
"Robert?" she said. "Damnit, I hate it when he gets up without me." She tossed her covers off the bed and stood up to get ready.
There was a rapid knock at the door. Lisa was nude and decided it was not wise to allow whoever it was immediate access. "Who is it?"
"It's me." It was Chris.
"One minute." Lisa grabbed a robe and put it on. "Come in."
Chris stepped inside. "Your lover was in a fit this morning." He noticed Lisa’s disheveled appearance. "Are you alright?"
She shot him an annoyed look.
“Ok, fine. Don’t answer that. Last thing I want to know is how vigorous your sex life has become.”
“You really don’t approve.”
“I’ve seen his temper. I just saw it this morning. Something’s up.”
"So what's going on?" asked Lisa.
"I don't know, but the tension level on that military base is sky-high. Father knows something, but he'd not telling."
"Alright,
I’ll see what I can learn. Give me some privacy to get dressed.”
Lisa entered the militia command center. On the back wall was a map of the
“What’s all this about?” she asked.
“That,” he said, “is what we know about some unknown invasion force plowing through our space from the Periphery. Those are the worlds that I know they’ve hit so far.”
“That’s eight worlds. Who could hit us like that?”
“That’s just it. We don’t know.”
Lisa noticed that New Belfast was directly in the path of the invaders, but much further within the borders of the Commonwealth. “You think they’re coming here?”
“I don’t know. But if they’re hitting worlds at that pace, they could be here in two months.”
“This is what Joshua feared.” She said, half to herself. “The people who destroyed his homeworld. They’ve finally come.”
Location Unknown
3 April 3050
Juan carefully glanced over one shoulder to see if anyone was observing his behavior. His unfamiliarity with Clan customs had already made him suspicious. As a result, he avoided contact with the other Clansman, which only brought on more doubt about his identity.
If he were to be caught here, however, his identity would be out and he would join Kelly as a bondsman, assuming they let him live after his deception. Juan slid his pass-card through the lock and entered the room.
Inside were a handful of sleeping bondswomen. Juan glanced back out the door again to see if anyone was around. There wasn't. He carefully entered the dark room and closed the door behind him. He let his eyes adjust to the half-light before proceeding. He knew Kelly was supposed to be here. He'd been unable to contact her since they were separated on Here and those three weeks of worry had been nagging at him. He and Kelly had been through a lot and she was a good friend. "Hell," thought Juan. "She's probably the only one I have in this world. I'm not about to let her go so easily. Maybe that's not professional, but who gives a damn."
As if on cue, one of the women sat up in her bed. "Is someone there?" she whispered. It was Kelly.
Juan stepped forward. "It's me, Kelly."
"Juan, oh thank God, you're alright."
"How are you?"
"Better. Their medical technology is as advanced as their weaponry. What are you doing here?"
"I had make sure you were alright. This is the first chance I've had."
"Where are we?"
"Somewhere in the Periphery. They launched a slew of dropships a couple of days ago. Apparently we're picking up reinforcements for the invasion."
"How many of them are there?"
"I don’t know. This warship is of a design I’ve never even heard of before. But I have seen Aegis class ships through portholes. We are dealing with a very interesting group of people here. They have a highly developed warrior culture with advanced technology."
"Culture doesn't develop overnight."
"You don't need a sociology degree to know that. Ryan said these guys are Kerensky's armanda returned, but they are nothing like any people of the Inner Sphere that I know of. They have changed…radically."
“It makes sense. Put the pieces together. Kerensky's armada left the Inner Sphere over 200 years ago. They left with warships like this one. This could be a new machine developed from those. And the mechs we fought. Two hundred years of advancement, not the degradation the Inner Sphere has faced, could produce designs of their power and potency. It all clicks."
“The only piece that doesn’t fit is the cultural change. But who knows what’s happened to them and societal influences have impacted them.”
“What are we going to do? I, for one, don't wish to be stuck here doing menial labor for the rest of my life. Neither does anyone else on this ship."
"I have an idea. This ship is getting loaded with replacement equipment and another 'cluster,' which is I guess their version of a regiment. When it returns to the Inner Sphere, it will have over 150 new mechs aboard."
"So?"
"What say we drop a line to our buddies back home that we have a jumpship loaded with Clan technology coming to such-and-such system? I have a black box aboard. What do you think the AFFC would do?"
"They might try a commando raid. But our forces would be annihilated. No boarding party would stand a chance."
"Not unless we tipped the odds in their favor."
"What do you have in mind?"
"Have you ever been through a jump when you were disoriented? Like light-headed or so?"
"Yeah, it fucks you up. Jumps are disorienting enough without already being dizzy."
"That's what I'm counting on. And that’s not all."
"What else do you have in mind?"
"I’ve found the weapons lockers on this level. Do you think you could rally a mutiny?"
"I think so. But, how are you going to get the whole crew dizzy?"
"Simple. Reduce the oxygen levels in the air. If I do it real subtle-like about an hour or two before we jump, no one will notice until it's too late."
"How are you going to get to the life support controls?"
"I'm not. A Clan warrior would be noticed immediately. But not necessarily someone who normally does menial labor on the ship."
"Like a bondswoman. Like me."
"Exactly."
"Why do I have to do all the work?"
"You’ll not be alone. I’ll come and fetch you for that task when the time comes. Until then, see what you can do to get these bondsmen in a fighting mood."
"Can do."
"As soon as I learn our destination system, I'll transmit to the Inner Sphere. Hopefully someone will notice."
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
5 April 3050
Marshall Sarah Steiner, commander of the 10th Donegal Guards, stood up and addressed her regiment from the shoulder of her BNC-3S Banshee. "At 1341 hours today, an jumpship of Star League era design appeared in-system and dropships from it began burn-in towards our planet. They have identified themselves as the Wolf Clan. We believe they are the group responsible for the assault on eight worlds last month.
"Their motives and relative strength are unknown to us. We do know however that all communication with the worlds attacked last month have ceased. We believe they have been taken and their defenders destroyed. Only a handful of survivors have jumped out of the systems in the last two weeks."
Marshall Steiner paused to let the uproar her statement caused pass. When all was quiet again, she continued. "When we suit up to attack these foes, we may be facing an enemy more powerful than any we have ever faced. Not even in the heaviest fighting of the Fourth War did so many worlds fall so quickly. Good luck."
Joshua was sitting on the shoulder of Galileo. “Well, they’re here and far earlier then we could have guessed.”
Beside him was Daisaku Hayakusora, chewing on a piece of grass. “I wonder if what happened on New Vision was part of all this. Maybe what happened pushed up the timeline.”
“Not much sense speculating. The Jade Falcons hit us on New Vision. Now the Wolf Clan strikes the
Daisaku paused. "Here was one of the eight, you know?"
"Yeah, but we’ve heard nothing either way. They fought and survived on New Vision. They will do so again. Our destiny will carry us through."
“When did you start talking like that? You’re not a prophet, Joshua, just a mechwarrior.”
“Call it what you want. But our task is now before us. Let’s see if we can give the Wolf Clan a bit of payback for their little war of annihilation two hundred years ago. We’d best suit up and you’d best get to your mech.”
“Ok, see you in a few.”
Joshua jumped into his cockpit and began the start up sequence for his mech. He put on his headset microphone. "Wendy, are you there?"
"Right here and ready to go." said Wendy, her Blackjack moving up alongside. Daisaku’s Wolfhound began to start up. Without Larry, their lance was undermanned and no replacement had yet emerged for him. There hadn't been enough time.
"Tango and Sierra lances, advance north towards Olney. We've got reports of a planetfall in that direction."
"Roger, Hauptmann Delgado." said Joshua, sliding into his mech’s cockpit and putting on his neurohelmet.
"Copy that, Hauptmann." said the lance commander of Tango lance.
Seven mechs began their march northward. Joshua, who's mech was one of the swiftest, took the lead. "Careful there, Leftenant." said Tango's commander. "The guy in front is the first one to get shot."
"And the one to get the first kill." said Joshua, trying to use false cockiness to calm his nerves. He let go of his control sticks to wipe the sweat off his hands onto his legs. "I hope."
In less than half-an-hour, the group had reached the small town of
"Bogeys incoming. I count five enemy mechs." said Tango Commander.
"Only five, they don't stand a chance." said one mechwarrior.
"Don’t bet on it." said Daisaku coldly.
"Here they come." said Joshua. One light appeared at the end of the street he was on and started running at him at high speeds.
"Dear God, I'm clocking this mech at over 200 kph. No mech can run that fast!" said Joshua. His ER PPC dropped from its upright position and locked onto the enemy mech.
The light opened fire with its lasers. Joshua's finger twitched on the trigger and his PPC fired. The bolt struck the mech in the leg and disintegrated it. At the speed it was running, the mech was hurled forward by momentum, spinning out of control into a huge fireball that threatened the envelope Joshua's Shadow Hawk. Joshua punched his jump jets and flew over the flaming wreckage.
"Damn, that was flashy." said Daisaku, who walked his mech onto the street just as the remnants of the Clan mech came to a stop.
“I’ll take it. That’s the first kill of the day.”
Twin heavy laser blasts shot through the air at Joshua's jumping mech. Joshua swore as he realized his mistake. When airborne, he was a target to every mech in the city. Joshua cut his jets and came down fast and hard. Joshua wrestled with his controls to stay on his feet after the impact.
"Easy, Joshua." said Daisaku. Joshua brought his mech upright.
"There’s one coming here." He marked the location on his onboard computer, transmitting it to his lancemates. The mech turned the corner. It looked a lot like Ryan Smith's Marauder, but it lacked the overhead autocannon and had twin missile pods on each shoulder. It looked like a weird fusion of a Marauder and a Catapult fire-support mech.
"Nasty." said Daisaku, opening fire on the mech. His lasers cut ugly fissures across its armor. Daisaku gasped. "No mech with that heavy weaponry can have that much armor."
"They must have managed to reduce the weight of their equipment or skeleton or something." said Joshua, drawing the same conclusion as Matthew Jiwe had.
Joshua fired his PPC and his LRM launcher. The missiles battered the heavy mech while his PPC peeled back armor on the mech's right arm. It just stood there mockingly.
"They’re just as tough as I remember them. This is not a memory I wish to relive."
“Stay with
"Yeah, but I clocked its dash at 216 kph. No mech I know of can run that fast." Joshua winced as the Marauder-Catapult opened fire with its lasers and rocket pods. Forty missiles and the two lasers all connected, sending Joshua's mech flying backwards. It crashed into a nearby building and lay still.
"Joshua!" cried Daisaku in shock and disbelief. He'd never seen such lethal accuracy, save perhaps Joshua’s father in his prime. He fired his lasers again, but knew if Joshua's 55 ton mech could go down with one barrage, his 35 tonner wouldn't withstand it either.
The Marauder-Catapult moved up beside Joshua's destroyed mech as Daisaku continued to back away. At least he was faster than it, but he knew the enemy was still only walking, not running at top speed.
"All forces retreat!" came the order from the Tango Commander. His face appeared on one of Daisaku's monitors, fuzzy and full of static. He screamed in agony and the monitor went dead. Through his window, he saw a fireball appear several blocks over above the top of the buildings.
"I will not be beaten!" swore Daisaku. The Marauder-Catapult moved past Joshua's mech, closing for the kill.
Suddenly the Shadow Hawk came to his feet. The Clan pilot realized his mistake, but it was too late. Joshua slammed his arm mounted lasers into the mech's hip and fired. Thick armor boiled away. Joshua fired the PPC, striking the back of the left missile pod. It detonated, taking the mech's arm with it. The laser shut down after overloading, but it had done its job. The Clan mech's hip was fused, crippling the mech's mobility.
Daisaku ran forward, firing away. His shots were random, melting holes all over the heavy mech. Joshua stepped back and fired the PPC again. It struck the hole where the missile pod had been and melted vital internal components. The Marauder-Catapult tried to turn to face Joshua, but couldn't turn fast enough.
"Time to end this party." said Joshua, rage in his voice. He fired his jump jets. He rocketed straight up and came back down on the back of the bird-like mech. The impact of his landing finished the Clan mech for good. Its pilot ejected after the mech struck the pavement, destroyed.
"Let's get out of here." said Daisaku. "Your jump probably revealed our position."
"I heard the retreat order. Damnit, we can beat these guys."
"Calm down, Joshua, you're registering only 35% armor." Said Daisaku, trying to bring Joshua back down to earth. "Yeah, we can beat them, but it takes everything we have and then some. We can’t keep up this intensity. We have to pull out."
Around the corner came another mech. It was a gaunt hunchbacked medium with twin lasers on each arm. Daisaku dropped his crosshairs onto its image on his targeting monitor. "Let's go! Now!"
Daisaku fired his heavy laser and two mediums at the enemy mech. Luck was with him. All three connected around where the mech's head would have been. The medium staggered and fell over onto its back.
"Lead
on, Daisaku. I'll bring up the rear." said Joshua. "Let's get the
hell out of here."
"Leftenant Messer, status report." demanded Hauptmann Delgado as he and Daisaku approached the base.
"We took down three of them, Hauptmann. But my mech has seen better days." said Joshua.
"Good job, Leftenant. We're holding them in most sectors for the time being. Get your mech to the repair bay."
Joshua marched his Shadow Hawk past Delgado's Jagermech. He was pleased to see that Wendy's Blackjack had escaped as well. It was a bit battered, but they made it out.
"Wendy, how did you and Tango lance fare?"
"Didn't get a one of them, sir. Lost three of our own in the process."
"What were you fighting against?"
Three PPCs flew out of the distance to hit Delgado's exposed Jagermech. All three hit it square in the chest, where the sternum would have been on a human. Delgado screamed as her engine exploded, blowing debris and fire over a fifty meter area.
"Carmen!" screamed Joshua, turning his mech. On the horizon were two mechs, the survivors of the force they'd tangled with earlier.
"It's them." said Wendy. "They followed us!"
"Damn!" swore Daisaku. "One of them has the firepower of an Awesome too."
"That one has four lostech PPCs on it." said Wendy. "The other has two."
"There are seven of us against their two. All forces attack at will!" said Joshua, who was now the highest ranking officer present.
Joshua fired his PPC at the big one. It tore a gash across its left torso, but the mech continued to lumber forward. From its speed and firepower, Joshua knew it was an assault class mech, weighing in at over 80 tons.
The lighter one, a heavy, fired its twin PPCs with lethal accuracy at a Radio lance Ostsol. The shots blew its leg off, sending the mech into the dust.
"They're concentrating well." said Daisaku. "Their marksmanship is almost unreal."
"Might be some kind of special targeting system."
A Warhammer was the last of the Radio lance mechs. It was pumping PPC bolt after PPC bolt into the assault mech. Coupled with Joshua's shots, they were starting to wear it down. Wendy's light autocannon peppered away at the Clan heavy. Daisaku watched as it locked onto her next.
"Wendy, get out of there. He's going for you next." Yelled Daisaku.
Wendy took her mech to a run, throwing off the Clanner's aim. He fired anyway, hitting her once in the arm with one of his PPCs. That was still enough to blow it off at the shoulder.
"Shit!" swore Daisaku, bringing his laser in line with the heavy mech and firing.
"Daisaku," said Joshua. "Our company was assigned the duty of protecting the headquarters. We won't be able to hold these guys off much longer. Go inside and insure that the
"Understood." said Daisaku. He turned his mech and dashed the 1/2 kilometer to the command center. He opened his cockpit and disembarked. He drew his handgun and ran inside.
The command center was hectic as it could be. The main evacuation order had been given and all the various technicians and support personnel were running about like ants trying to get away. Daisaku made his way through the crowd to the control room.
A PPC bolt from the assault connected with the building. The ceiling above Daisaku collapsed, sending debris down on a group of technicians behind him. Daisaku tried to clear away the wreckage, but realized there was no hope for the unfortunate group underneath. The Clanners were getting through and he had to get the
He dashed into what was left of the control room. It was a mess, with support girders and destroyed computers lying about haphazardly. A handful of techs had been killed in the blast, the rest were milling about, dazed. The
"Marshall Steiner, I'm here to get you out of here." Said Daisaku, running over to the wreckage. He turned to one of the techs. "You, give me a hand."
Military training kicked in when Daisaku snapped his order. The tech shook out of his stupor and moved to Daisaku's side. The two young men grabbed the heavy girder imprisoning Marshall Steiner and pulled it aside.
"Let's get out of here." said the
Daisaku led the
The assault was looking very worse for wear, primarily because Joshua wouldn't let up. He was unloading into it second after second. The heavy fired a blast of medium lasers into Wendy's Blackjack.
"That's the end of me. I'm out of here." Daisaku heard her say as her ejection pod roared away from her demolished mech.
"Ditto." said Joshua, breaking into a run for the center. Daisaku pushed the
The technicians were loading up aboard transport trucks and driving away from the headquarters. Daisaku happened to glance over and see a handful of the mech pilots from the destroyed mechs jump aboard the last one as it pulled out. At least they didn't lose the pilots along with the mechs.
The Wolves did not pursue.
Next Chapter
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