Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
7 August 3051
General Joshua Messer looked out over the bridge of the Star Sword.
"Hyperspace jump completed, sir." said the navigator. "We are now in the New Belfast system at Lagrange point L-2.”
"Good work, Technician Karl." said Joshua to the Clan navigator. "At this position, it is unlikely that the Clan garrison will detect us."
"Correct, sir. The Clans do not use treachery and thus do not expect it." It was Mechlanthon, standing behind Joshua, looking out the windows at the silent blackness of space.
"An oversight the Jade Falcons will soon learn to regret." said Joshua. He stood. "I will be in my ready room."
Joshua floated to the small office off of the bridge. He grabbed a package of microwavable food from his desk and tossed in the microwave oven he'd installed in the wall. He sat down and turned on the computer terminal there.
"War journal:" he typed. "Entry 21. 7 August 3051. After a two month delay on Skye to take on supplies, men, and deliver our unused mechs to research facilities, we set forth to begin our mission. With our plans to attack New
The doors parted and Erik Iolair drifted in. "Hello, Erik." said Joshua.
"We're here. Finally. So what's the plan?"
Joshua got his food from the microwave and looked at Erik. "I'm going to assemble a reinforced lance for a deep recon of the planet and its Clan garrison."
"Led by yourself of course."
“You think that unwise?”
“I do. You are the regimental commander. Going down there is an unnecessary risk.”
“Your concern is noted.” Said Joshua. He continued without missing a beat. “Once I've determined the enemy's strong points, locations of vital supplies, etc, we'll launch our attack. I want every person aboard ship to be ready for immediate deployment in one week's time."
“You aren’t listening.”
“I lead from the front, Erik. I go to show that there is no task that I ask of my troops that I will not do myself. My decision is final.”
“Very well.” Said Erik with a frustrated tone. “But why a week? Surely, it will take longer."
“It might. It probably will, in truth. But I want the Swords ready to strike as soon as I know what I want to know. I want to have as much tactical surprise as possible.”
"Makes sense. Who do you want for the scout team?"
Joshua took a bite out of his food and handed the computer printout to Erik. "I want these personnel in the briefing room at 0800 tomorrow morning."
“Going yourself was foolhardy enough.” Commented Erik as he read down the list.
“What’s your objection now?” said Joshua impatiently.
“You shouldn’t have to ask that. You risk yourself and Ryan. You risk discovery.”
“You are starting to sound like my Father.” Grumbled Joshua. “He and all the other isolationist who would have hidden on New Vision until the end of time. We can’t hide forever, Erik. We are Wolverines. One day the galaxy will know that.”
“It may come sooner than you think, if you keep this up.”
“You have your orders.”
“Very well.” Erik gave Joshua a casual salute. "I'll pass on the message. See you later."
Joshua went back to his food as Erik departed.
He ran his hands across the ship’s retrothruster panel. Due to their operation in space, the ships had to use maneuver jets to move about. Some craft had a second ion engine that pointed forward for use in braking. Most, however, used a ceramic panel that projected the thrust of the main engine back towards the front.
After several weeks in within the bowels of the Shipil Aerospace factory on Skye, the new ships emerged. To accommodate their upgraded weapons and equipment, the engineers had lengthened the craft by a few meters. Although they superficially resembled their old form, these new ships were obviously very different.
The differences didn’t stop with appearance. The Clan engineers had completely overhauled the ships from the ground up. New engines, new weapons, and new armor were the order of the day. The resulting craft, which Erik had unofficially tagged as the "YF-91 Stingray-C," was easily the better of any Inner Sphere craft ever built. It was a Clan fighter through and through.
Michelle stood up from her hiding place and whipped her long black hair back. "Look, I'm telling you. The fuel regulator's been acting irregularly since you had the ship refit. Now I want it fixed."
"Go easy on the poor man, Michelle." said Erik, walking over.
"I'm worried about that fuel regulator. I'd rather not have my ship blow because I got jolted around in combat." she paused.
"Or to punch the throttle and have no thrust."
"Helios doesn't have that problem." said Erik, turning to the Clan technician Michelle had been arguing with. "What's the difference?"
"We do not know, sir." Said the technician. "We believe it is a faulty power distributor. With the additional weapons, it is a good guess to assume that the computer is regulating too much power to them at the expense of the fuel system. We are investigating that possibility now."
"Could you add a booster cable?"
"We could. But despite the irregularities in the regulator, there is no danger to this ship. Adding a booster cable would require us to take the ship apart again."
"Then do it."
"I cannot. General's orders state that this ship is to be flight ready by tomorrow afternoon."
"Fuck!" swore Erik. "Joshua wants the two of us to fly escort for his dropship when he goes in tomorrow."
Michelle shook her head in frustration. "Alright, leave it for now." She stormed away in frustration.
"She should have red hair, not Lisa." said Erik to himself. "But then, Harrington IS an Irish name."
Erik chased after her. "Michelle, wait."
"What is it?" she said angrily.
"Hey, what have I done?"
Michelle looked down at her feet. "Nothing, it's just that I've just about had enough. Today has not been a good day." She looked up. "We have to fly escort tomorrow?"
"Yeah, Joshua's sending a scout team down to recon the enemy before attacking. We're keeping his dropship out of trouble. That's what I came down to tell you."
"That Marik reject is barely capable of operation. I know bats that can fly smoother and faster than me in that crate!"
“You’d rather have what? A Lucifer? You can’t even eject out of that piece of junk. The Stingray is hands-down the best Inner Sphere medium class fighter and you know it.”
Erik had made a mistake, attempting to use logic to further his argument. Michelle would have none of it.
“Then you fly it if it’s such a god-send.”
Erik conceded defeat. No sense drawing out a pointless argument. "Look, just borrow another ship. I’ll order your craft grounded. I think Joshua wants you and not your fighter."
Michelle groaned and ran her hand through her hair. "Fine, I guess I've got nothing better to do."
Erik gained a puzzled look. "I was not aware that you needed a free slot in your schedule to follow an order?" His tone was not condescending.
Michelle cocked her head to one side and looked at Erik. "I was planning to spend the day with you."
Erik frowned. "Truly nothing better to do then?" he teased self-deprecatingly.
Michelle smiled devilishly and said nothing. She turned and walked away.
"You wench." said Erik affectionately as he headed after her.
That, however, forced the Star Swords to leave one of their captured Clan Overlord ships on Tharkad. They could store the mechs normally assigned to that dropship inside the massive hold of the Star Sword, and even deploy them on planet, but without the dropship there was no easy way to retrieve those craft after deployment. If a retreat was called for, it would be a near impossible maneuver. Lives and equipment would be lost.
"We'll be taking her down to the planet for the recon." Said Joshua in reference to the new dropship. "The Clanners won't even know we're there if we're lucky."
Isaac was not paying attention to the dropship however. "I saw the duty rosters for the recon mission. Three couples?"
"Erik get to you too?"
"No, I just didn't think you would stoop to using a scout mission as an excuse for a romantic getaway." He said teasingly.
"Cute, Isaac." said Joshua sardonically. "Now you and I both know that couples work better together. They look out for each other, which is important in a mission like this."
"They also take unnecessary risks for each other. That could be dangerous, given the nature of this mission."
"The way I see it, the only time such a risk would come up is in a circumstance where I would sanction such action, like say a rescue."
"Is that wise?" said Isaac. "Tactical necessity can frequently and quickly outweigh the demands of friendship. This is not the cinema where the leader goes back for the lost comrade against impossible odds. Try a stunt like that, and you’ll end up dead." He paused for emphasis. "And our secret will be out."
“Now I know you’ve talked to Erik. He was rather unhappy with me for posting Ryan and myself to this mission.”
“He has a point.”
"I know he does. But there are more important things. One, am I a leader or am I not? Two, we can’t keep hiding behind the First Edict. At some point, there will be a reckoning, for us and for the other Clans. A time when the time for secrecy will have passed. But that time is not yet. Thus, if our cover is blown, we will flee and come back to fight another time. New
“You seemed so determined to give Lisa back her home as a brideprice.”
“And risk the lives of 500 troops under my command? You misjudge me. I’m a better strategist than that. That is the nature of the Third Edict. Patience, Isaac, and we will claim victory in the end."
“Patience only?”
“No, also trust. Trust that I know what I am doing and that I will not lead our people astray.”
"Beginning powered atmospheric entry." said Erik. "Mech drop in 30 seconds."
Michelle's ship, a borrowed Avar class, pulled around onto the other side of the dropship. "So far so good. No enemy fighters detected."
"Let's hope it stays that way." said the dropship pilot. "Drop in 10...9...."
Down in the mech bay, Joshua double-checked his straps. Mech drops were similar to 20th century paratrooping. Using special entry pods with braking rockets rather than parachutes, the mechs would be released from an altitude of over 50,000 meters, almost 30 Terran miles in the air.
"Everyone ready?" queried Joshua.
"Check." said Lisa.
"3...2....1....Release." said the pilot.
Joshua felt his stomach rush to his head as the floor beneath his mech fell out. His Ryoken was falling towards New Belfast at breakneck speeds.
The ships roared downward, finally reaching terminal velocity. Joshua could hear Lisa's voice come over in a monotone. "Prepare to release cocoons on my mark. Now."
The white ablative cocoon that protected the mech during reentry flew off, leaving only a small foot-pad with the heavy braking rockets and a sophisticated gyroscopic system to keep the mech upright while in free-fall. Joshua looked out through the clouds onto fields hundreds of kilometers long, some covered with a light blanket of snow. He checked his altimeter. He was still 15,000 meters in the air, still well above where most 20th century airliners used to fly.
"Prepare to fire breaking rockets at 10k meters." said Lisa. This was the four NAMA grads first real combat drop, but Lisa spoke with a cool tone that seemed to indicate that she was a veteran of this.
"Roger." said Ryan Smith from a nearby cocoon. "Hey, Lis, is it the winter season on New Belfast?"
"Yes, it is. 12k meters. Get ready, guys." she paused. "New
Joshua's stomach flew back down to his feet as the huge breaking rockets fired, decelerating the falling mechs for their final decent.
"Impact in 60 seconds. Deccel at 12 meters per second squared." said Lisa. "Landing velocity will be at 0.7 meters per second. Looking good."
Helios roared past Joshua's viewport. "You guys seem to be doing just fine. I'm bugging out. See you in a few days."
"Thanks for everything, Erik. See you back at the Star Sword."
"Impact in 10...9....8....7....6....5....4....3....2....1. Impact!" Joshua's mech hit the frozen soil of New Belfast's northern hemisphere with a jolt. His controls came alive as he tried to maintain his balance from the impact.
"All mechs report in." said Joshua, quickly bringing his sensors on-line. The heat and EM interference of atmospheric entry would have shorted out the instruments if he’d been using them before hand. He quickly scanned for signs of enemy activity.
"Lisa here." came Lisa’s report.
"Ryan here." said Ryan Smith.
"Amanda check." said Amanda.
"Juan Miranda falling in."
"Kelly Perrens falling in."
"Let's clear to the LZ quickly. We may have been spotted on the Clanner's radar. Top speed for the
"Aye, mon kapitan." said Juan. His Thor started northward, followed close behind by Kelly's Grendel.
Ryan marched his Mad Cat out of its drop cocoon. The 75 ton mech was the heaviest in the band and it shook the earth as it took its steps. "Man, this is rock and roll!" he said with a sense of excitement.
"No, Ryan," said Joshua, making a dramatic step forward of his own. In his own excitement, he decided to play along. "This would be heavy metal."
New Belfast
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
8 August 3051
It was early evening by the time the scout team reached a place in the mountains that was secure enough to make camp. The danger from random Clan patrol would be low, as the Clanners were not expecting any intruders. If the alarm had been raised by their drop, then the pass they had camped in was about as defensible a position as could be found.
After dismounting, Joshua garbed himself in his jumpsuit and then pulled a heavy arctic coat over that. The temperature was only around -2° Centigrade. Joshua had a laugh when Amanda dismounted in her typical overly-skimpy mechwear and shivered her way into a warmer outfit.
Lisa laid out a map on the foot of her Fenris, the Pen-Y-Cat. The name was Gaelic for "Chief of War," a most fitting name Joshua had said. The map was of the entire world, with major cities and other strategic sights noted.
"Our best bet is to split up into three teams of two. My world is an agricultural world, so there are few factories or other sites of interest to hold. I would guess the Clanners rule from the large cities like
"You know this planet better than anyone." said Joshua. "It's your call, Lisa. Tell us where to go."
"Those three cities are our best bet. Ryan and Amanda, you take the capital. Juan and Kelly, you can handle
"You don't want to check out your home?" said Joshua, surprised.
Lisa looked down and shook her head. "I'm scared to know what's happened to it. If it's been destroyed, I'd rather not be the first one to see it that way."
"Alright." Joshua looked up. "Well, you have your assignments. Tomorrow morning at dawn, we'll break camp and begin our mission. We'd best get some sleep. It may be the last for a while."
Joshua walked over to the small patch of ground where Lisa had set up a small environmental dome. Lisa was looking up at the clear winter sky from the door of the dome.
"Are you planning to sleep or look at the sky all night?" said Joshua.
"It's the first time I've seen the sky from home in a long time, Joshua. Indulge me."
"Then scoot over."
Lisa did so and Joshua sat down beside her. Joshua put his arm around her and pulled her close. She pulled away, to Joshua’s surprise and chagrin.
"What’s wrong?"
"This may have been a mistake."
"Why? This is a preliminary operation. We launch our attack within a few weeks. We’re just here to find out where the enemy is hiding."
“I know the plan. That’s not what bothers me. It’s just that…this is my world, but it is also his world.”
“Daniel has been dead for two years now, Lisa.”
“Not him.”
“O’Malley is dead.”
“Do you know that for certain? Have you seen his body?”
“You can’t let him haunt you.”
“He hasn’t.” said Lisa defiantly. Her tone softened. “He wasn’t anyway…”
“But now you’re here.”
“Yeah, where it all happened. Most people seek out ‘home’ to find their true selves. My home is where I lost myself for a time.”
“You keep looking for excuses to blame yourself for what happened. It was not your fault.”
"I know. It’s just that I don’t know what I want anymore. That makes it hard on both of us. I love you, Joshua, I hope you know that.” She turned to look him in the eye.
“Well, you did marry
“It’s just that sometimes, when you touch me, I feel like it’s him and it’s too much for me. I fight it, I try to remember that it’s really you, the man I love, but it still frightens me." She looked back to the sky. “And now I’m here and I’m terrified all over again, afraid that he’s around every corner.”
“He’s not. And even if he were, he’d have to get through me first.”
“Ever my knight in shining armor.” She slid her fingers across the scabbard of Joshua’s sword. “You even have an appropriate weapon.”
She turned back to gaze at the winter sky. “Ah, there it is!” she said, pointing.
"There's what?"
"Sol. The home of humanity. Earth orbits that star. Took me forever to find tonight."
"I didn't know you could see it from here."
"I did a lot of stargazing as a child. Father used to point Sol out to me, sort of like a landmark in the sky. It's one of the brighter stars in New Belfast's sky. Makes it easy to find….normally."
"I was always fascinated by the night sky." said Joshua, taking advantage of Lisa’s change in topics. "As a small child, I did some amateur astronomy of my own. I'd look up at the stars and dream about traveling among them."
"Is that why your mechs have been named after Galileo?"
"Partly. Galileo was also a man who was persecuted for his beliefs. When he discovered the heliocentric nature of the solar system, he was threatened by the religious powers of the day for creating heresy. Never mind the fact that nowhere in the holy text of the Christian religion does it mention the specific scientific make-up of the solar system. He was forced to recant his views. To me, his story mirrors that of my people, who rather than recant faced the punishment for believing as they did."
Lisa nodded in understanding. "Was it all you expected? Space travel that is?"
"No. My home planet was far removed from all this interstellar warfare. I came from a warrior society, but we largely lived peacefully. Our wars were staged events, and although as deadly as any real war, there was still a certain degree of isolation to them. It was against our way to attack civilians or cause needless property damage. Our wars were to test the strength of our warriors. Here, the order of the day seems to be berserker wars. No one or nothing escapes the destruction. Three centuries of the Succession Wars has almost torn the Inner Sphere into ruins. The Clans are no different."
"And then you became a part of it." To Joshua, it sounded like a rebuke.
Joshua didn't move nor speak for several seconds. "Human beings are a curious species. We desire both war and peace. When we have too much of one, we gorge ourselves on the other. Someday, our better natures will dominate us, and the time will come when we will never desire anything more than peace. Until then, we must fight if just to survive and to preserve what little peace we can know now."
"Seems like a paradox."
"It is."
"What was your home like?"
"I came from a remote Periphery world somewhat spinward of the Outworlds Alliance. My people fled to it after their exile. They lived there and prospered. They preserved what aspects of the Clan culture they liked, and modified those that they didn’t. But we remembered our history, and our anger burned at our exile. So we kept a constant state of readiness for war, because we knew that one day we would have to face the other Clans again.
"For the typical civilian, life was not really any different there than here or any other Inner Sphere world. There were a handful of large settlements and several small farming communities.
"It all ended a few months before you and I met. A Jade Falcon warship chanced upon our system. I do not know how they found us, but they immediately launched a devastating attack. Their powerful mechs overwhelmed us as they do the Inner Sphere now. I survived. So did the others you met at NAMA: Erik, Matt, Ryan, Daisaku, Isaac, and my sister.
"By chance, a ComGuard ship hunting pirates also arrived in our system at about the same time. The Falcons fled, afraid I presume of making premature contact with the Inner Sphere, but not before they had wiped out almost every living human being on that planet. Hundreds of thousands died in less than a day.
"The ComGuard force searched the ruins and found us. Actually, we were found by a contingent of
"How did Gwen die?"
"I do not know. Her city was firebombed out of existence. I do not like to think about it, because I know that she did not die a pleasant death."
Lisa shivered. "These are cruel people, these Jade Falcons."
"They are fanatics, Lisa. Fanatics do not honor ethics or morals. If anyone, man, woman, or child even, stands in their path, they will kill them."
"And these people rule over my home now." Lisa shivered at the thought. "I envy you. You speak of it with this detachment. You’re not bitter. I’ve lost my home and that still hurts. You’ve had regrets about Gwen, but you’ve talked about your home in generalities, like you’re a detached observer." said Lisa cautiously. This was territory she'd never penetrated before.
“Gwen also died several years ago.” Said Joshua flatly. He was clearly growing uncomfortable at this line of conversation. “I’m over that now.”
“But no grief for New Vision, for your home, for your people?”
“Where are you going with this, Lisa?” asked Joshua bluntly.
“Having been through the loss of a homeworld, I know how it hurts. You hardly speak of it, except as some detached historical event or point around which to rally your friends. What did Joshua Messer lose on New Vision that hurts so much that he can’t talk about it? It’s not Gwen, you’ve spoken freely of her. It’s something else.”
“People go home to find themselves, you said.” Said Joshua cautiously. “Like you, I once lost myself on New Vision.” He stopped there, too uncomfortable to move forward.
“And?” Lisa wasn’t backing down now.
“I did a terrible thing. For years, my family was anything but. My mother died many years ago. I had my sister, who had chosen a civilian path, and my father who was Khan and leader of our people. Father…he was cold, brutal, unforgiving. He was grooming me to take his place, much as he had taken the place of his father-in-law before him. He was determined to make me into a great warrior and great leader.”
“I think he succeeded.” Interjected Lisa, trying to increase Joshua’s comfort level.
“I hated him for it. Nothing I did was good enough, it always had to be better. No one I called friend was good enough. Only the lovers he chose for me were the right quality, born from the right families, would produce strong warrior children.”
“He hated Gwen?” asked Lisa, stating what she thought was the obvious conclusion.
“He did. And I hated him for it.” He paused again, but this time Lisa did not push. “When the time came for my testing, to see if I would earn true warrior status among my people, I challenged him. I demanded that he be one of those who I faced in my trial.”
Joshua wiped away a tear. He had kept silent about this with everyone for a very long time, and he was finding it harder to tell the tale than he ever expected. “I faced him in battle…” He let his voice trail off. He could not finish.
Lisa finished for him. “And you killed him?”
Joshua closed his eyes and nodded. “I was angry. I was arrogant.” He stammered out. “I thought I hated him, but I didn’t. I loved him and I murdered him.” Joshua buried his face in his knees, trying to control his emotions.
“I’m sorry.” Said Lisa. It was all she could think to say.
New Belfast
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
12 August 3051
Joshua and Lisa were the last to leave camp that morning.
It had been a quiet trip. Lisa had never expected Joshua to confess to so heinous an act as the killing of his own father. She had spent the past several days sorting through her own feelings on the matter. Joshua, for his part, had also said little. It was clear that he now regretted his confession, and he feared what she now thought of the man she had wed just a few months earlier. Their words were few and formal, dealing with only the day to day business at hand. At night, when they camped, there was no affection between them.
"Only another hour and we'll be on the outskirts of the city.” Said Joshua, breaking the silence with a formal report. Same tone he’d kept over the past four days. “If there are Clanners around, we'd better be on the look-out."
"Aye, my love." said Lisa, trying to break them free of this awkward formality. She hated him being so cold now. She wanted the man she married back.
"How large is the city?" asked Joshua. Again, his cold formality.
"Population around four million.” Lisa conceded defeat and gave him the information he wanted. “It's a rough circle in shape about 14 kilometers in diameter. Built at the intersection between four large collective farms."
"Want to split up and scout the interior from different directions?"
"You're the General. You make the call."
"You cut west then. I'll take east."
"Roger. I'll split off when we reach the outskirts." Lisa wasn’t sure if she regretted or rejoiced at the possibility of separating from Joshua even for just a simple scouting maneuver with him in such a dire mood.
As the hour passed, the city loomed larger in their viewports. A heavy snow had recently blanketed the city, covering it in almost a full meter of soft powder. The appearance of the city was beautiful but Joshua was too caught up in himself to truly appreciate it.
"Splitting off.” Reported Lisa. “Good luck and good hunting."
"Keep your eyes open and be careful. I don't see any Clanners around, but that doesn't mean they aren't here."
"Aye, my love. I'll be careful."
Joshua’s face registered annoyance as he turned his mech westward. Lisa was trying to be affectionate, but to him it seemed insincere. She now knew the truth of what sort of man he truly was.
Almost immediately, his sensors detected an unnatural source of metal roughly a kilometer ahead of him. Joshua cross-referenced it with his seismic sensors, which read nothing. Whatever it was, it was certainly large enough to be a mech, but if it was, it was shutdown and immobile.
"I'm picking up a metal source ahead of me. Could be a shutdown enemy mech." He reported.
"Okay. Now you be careful." Lisa replied with seriousness.
Joshua crested a small hill and spotted the source of his sensor readings. Yes, it was a mech, but "shutdown" was an understatement. The mech was one of the Clan's garrison designs, similar to the Omnimechs only it lacked the variable weapon system. The Galileo II's computers labeled it a Bane, better known by its ComStar codename of Kraken. The mech was a massive assault mech, usually carrying a devastating ten light autocannon or four heavy autocannon as its firepower.
This Kraken however was no threat. Its entire right side had been blasted out by what Joshua could only assume was an ammunition explosion. All across the surface of the mech were scorch marks similar to those produced by "flamers," mech-sized flame-throwers. Flamers, thought Joshua, are usually used against infantry. Who and what did this to this mech?
"Joshua, I'm picking up some unusual readings from inside the city. I'm going to investigate."
"Roger." said Joshua, absent-mindedly, now focused on the dead mech before him. He advanced on the Kraken, wary that whatever destroyed this mech might still be around.
"Lisa, I've found a destroyed Kraken on this hill-side. I'm disembarking for a closer look."
"Okay, I'm proceeding with my investigation. Lisa out."
Joshua pulled on his jumpsuit before he opened the hatch leading outside. The cold weather hit him full in the face and Joshua gasped for breath in the sub-zero temperatures.
Joshua dropped down and trudged through the snow to the Kraken's left foot. The Kraken was covered with the white powder, which reassured Joshua that whoever had done this was no longer in the immediate vicinity, but could still be nearby, possibly using the city to hide out. As he walked across the snow, he saw metal plates, shell casings, and other debris that were tell-tale signs of a battle.
Joshua grabbed hold of the boarding ladder and climbed up to the mech's cockpit. None of the mech's power systems still worked, so Joshua had to force the cockpit open. What he saw inside was a gruesome sight.
The pilot still sat in his seat, frozen stiff. Joshua knew better than to think it was the cold that had killed him though. Joshua sat and looked at the frozen cadaver and wondered. The secret to the destruction of the mech still puzzled him.
"Who did this is easy. There must be some sort of rebellion here on New Belfast. How is the hard part? Scorch marks, ammo explosion, pilot dead in the cockpit. What could it be?"
A high pitched whistle off in the distance gave Joshua his answer. He spun and saw a bright flash in the cloud-generated dusk.
"Inferno rounds!" said Joshua out loud. "They're attacking Lisa."
Joshua leaped from his perch, taking his chances with the 20 foot drop from the cockpit. He hit the ground hard, the snow not as cushioning as he'd hoped. He rolled with the fall and avoided serious injury, but any gained time was lost by Joshua's dazed staggering to regain his full footing. He finally came to his feet and dashed over to his mech.
"Lisa, what's happening?" he called across his radio with desperation.
There was no response.
Joshua felt panic creep up on him. He forced his fear down, knowing it would hamper his judgment. He locked onto Lisa's last known position and charged down the city streets after her.
The ice and snow made running on the streets hazardous and more than once Joshua had to slow his charge to avoid crashing into something. Lisa's mech soon became easy to spot, illuminated both in the visual and infra-red spectrums by the flaming inferno rockets that had detonated on her mech.
Two dozen or so men were running about in the street. Joshua ran up on them. He'd never fought infantry before, and hated the thought of using his weaponry on them. Even a near-miss by one of his lasers would immolate a human being.
Regardless of their technical inferiority, these infantry were doing Lisa's mech over good and opened fire on Joshua with their infernos next.
The first shot was a direct hit on the head of his Ryoken. The blast of flame blinded Joshua and his mech's sensors, which set off alarms. Not to mention the sight of exploding flames coming at his face, all three combined made Joshua flinch. His mech took a step back and struck a building. The 55 ton mech tore clean through the brick wall of the building. Joshua tried to keep his mech upright, but his controls would not respond. The infernos had overheated his engine and it had shutdown as a safety precaution.
Galileo
II crashed backward onto its rump.
Pieces of the damaged building fell down on top of the mech. Finally the entire
building came crashing down, burying Galileo II within the rubble.
James Sebastian, shook his head. "Damn shame about the
Some of the other rebels, those wearing fire retardant suits, began climbing the Pen-Y-Cat. Sebastian smiled. "Well, at least we've got one of them."
"We've got a live one here." said Marcus, who was leading the fire-team. "What should we do?"
"Keep him. Prisoners can always be useful."
New Belfast
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
12 August 3051
"Robert, this is your Trial of Position." It was Star Colonel Kenichi’s voice on the radio. "To become a member of the warrior caste, you must defeat one of three opponents in augmented combat. If you defeat a second, you will be granted the command of a star. Defeat all three, and you will be given command of a trinary."
"I understand."
"Then let the trial begin."
Robert marched his Stone Rhino onto the open plain near O’Brian manor to face his three opponents. The first, Mechwarrior Martin, piloted a Supernova. With six extended range large lasers, it would prove to be his most dangerous opponent.
Robert dropped the crosshair of his twin gauss rifles and fired. The two slugs hurled across the battlefield and smashed into the Supernova’s upper torso. The 90 ton monster spun from the impact. Robert checked his scanners. The other two mechs waited some distance off. They would not engage until their turn had come. It was to be one-on-one.
Robert triggered his jump jets, taking his 100 ton mech into the air. He squeezed off two shots from his heavy pulse lasers. They struck home on the Supernova, which returned a barrage of its own. Four heavy lasers lashed out into the sky, only one finding its mark. Armor vaporized under the intense heat of the beam. The Stone Rhino slammed down into the ground behind the Supernova and set off running. With only a 300 rated engine, it did not move very fast.
The Supernova turned to purse as Robert made for a nearby forest. The Rhino lurched as a pair of lasers struck home on its back quarter. Robert maintained control long enough to get him inside the woods.
The Supernova followed him in. Robert snarled in disgust. This fight was too evenly matched. It was boring even to him, and his life was at stake! Time to change the stakes. Robert moved his mech into position in an open clearing. Martin closed with him, moving among the trees. Robert aimed one of his lasers at a tree directly beside Martin’s mech. As Martin moved his Supernova beneath it, he fired.
The laser blasted through the cedar’s trunk like a toothpick. All the snow that had been held trapped within the tree’s branches came down on the Supernova, covering it. It was a momentary distraction. Robert brought his mech into a run and closed to point blank range with the Supernova.
The snow melted away off the hot-running Supernova’s surface, including its canopy. Martin looked up to see Robert’s mech nearly on top of him. He moved his fingers to the triggers of his guns.
"Too slow!" mocked Robert, firing. The gauss slug smashed into the cockpit glass of the Supernova, blowing the mech’s head off. With a push, Robert tipped the mech over onto its back.
"That’s one!" declared Robert. "Now where are the rest of these amateurs?"
The next one, Star Commander Ezekiel, moved his Hunchback IIc into the fray. With two class 20 autocannons but only a few shots for each, Robert saw this enemy as the least of his worries. Still, those cannon could do a lot of damage, softening him up for his final foe: Star Captain David himself.
Ezekiel moved his mech into the forest. This time, Robert was at the disadvantage. The close quarters of the woods worked in his opponent’s favor. Robert fired his jump jets as an autocannon burst roared beneath him.
Unable to jump far enough to clear the trees, Robert came down again among them, tearing up some of his armor as he crushed some of the cedars beneath his mass. Moving through the trees was slow going and Robert felt the crosshairs of those autocannon moving in to lock onto his back.
He finally cleared the trees to the open ground. Ezekiel was nowhere to be seen. Robert moved out 500 meters from the woods just as Ezekiel cleared them. With a maximum effective range of only 360 meters, the autocannons could not touch him. Robert picked Ezekiel apart within seconds.
"That’s two!" said Robert. "Now it’s your turn, David."
"You should clean up your language, Robert. You are Clan now." responded David. "Try to act like it."
Four pulse lasers tore at Robert’s armor from the Rifleman. Robert brought his gauss rifles to bear, only to have David leap out of danger with his jump jets. Robert knew David would be a tough customer. But he had seen this trick before.
Robert fired his own jump jets, rocketing his mech straight for the Rifleman. David, surprised, failed to maneuver clear. They impacted 30 meters above the earth. The contact knocked both machines out of control and sent them spiraling into the snow.
Striking a mech nearly twice its weight had taken its toll on the Rifleman however. With his left leg locked by a twisted piece of armor, David could no longer maneuver. Two of his rifle barrels had also been bent askew, halving his firepower.
Robert triggered a single laser, boring through the crippled mech’s armor. He paused for a few seconds and then fired again.
"Finish me if you must. Do not toy with me!" demanded David.
A new mech entered the field. "Do as he commands." Ordered the Warhawk pilot. "This is improper behavior, Star Captain."
"I offer hegira to Star Captain David, as a debt of gratitude for his training." Said Robert. "Do you accept?"
Hegira was the tradition of honorable surrender. If offered to a defeated enemy, that enemy could withdraw without further loss of face or materials. David accepted by shutting down his mauled machine.
"This was an honorable affair." Complained Robert. "Let no man interfere."
"Do not quote Clan tradition to me, Spheroid. I did not intervene. You have earned your place among us, but I am still your superior in rank, tradition, and genetics. You will do as I ask without question. Is that clear?"
"To whom am I speaking?"
"Your benefactor, Star Captain. This is Star Colonel Dal Pryde. The fleet has returned and the invasion will resume shortly. Welcome to the Jade Falcon Clan. You are just in time."
New Belfast
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
12 August 3051
The pain running through Joshua's head reminded him he was still alive, although given the amount of pain, he almost wished he wasn't. He opened his eyes to see the red illuminated panels of his mech's cockpit.
"Now what do I do?" He said to himself.
Joshua flipped several switches and heard the comforting hum of the mech's fusion engine as it turned back on. He looked at his damage monitors. All sections showed armor damage, but no where had the mech been damaged internally. Joshua strained the mech to try to stand, but the debris on top of it was too heavy.
"Can't get the mech out this way." he said out load. "Looks like I'll have to exit on foot."
Joshua reached back and opened the small locker at the back of the cockpit. Inside was his jumpsuit and his arctic survival coat. He quickly donned them and also grabbed his blaster pistol and sword.
He hit a switch above his head and the cockpit panel slid open with a hiss. Several small stones and some dust fell down onto Joshua's lab. He looked out and saw that there was just enough room for a human being to exit the cockpit.
Joshua pulled himself up and looked about. The debris had fallen in a haphazard pattern that left large gaps of open space between large pieces of stone and brick. With a little luck and some time, Joshua could maneuver his way through the wreckage and exit the ruined building. He pulled himself the rest of the way out of the cockpit, closed it, and proceeded into the darkness.
New Belfast
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
13 August 3051
Lisa was also having to deal with a massive headache. The odor of burning cannabis in the air did little to aid her pounding cranium. She sat up and looked about. The ugly pinkish lights gave the room she was in an even more decadent look, as if the various pornographic pin-ups on the walls weren't enough. To her right was an open archway, where a bored guard with an assault rifle stood. Lisa recognized his uniform as one from the New Belfast militia. She also recognized this place as one of James Sebastian’s more notorious brothels: The Voluptuous Vixen. She had seen news reports on it before.
Lisa tried to stand, but found her legs far too weak. The guard noticed her moving about and barked a summons out into the hallway. A slimy looking man walked in. Lisa had never met him, but knew who he was: James Sebastian, head of New Belfast's organized crime sect and now apparently leader of the partisan forces on New Belfast.
"Good morning, Lady Lisa." said Sebastian with a maniacal grin.
"James Sebastian." said Lisa. "You bastard! It was you who fired on us!”
“A simple case of mistaken identity. My apologies.”
“You son-of-a-bitch! That was my husband in the other machine.”
Sebastian shrugged. “Had I known your mechs bore the Fist-and-Sunbust of the Fed Com before we opened fire, none of this would have happened. But I can’t afford to be too cautious against the Jade Falcons and when I saw a Stormcrow and an Ice Ferret in my city, I acted. I regret your loss. But it could not be helped.”
Lisa was more worried than bereaved. Somehow, she doubted the collapse of a building on top of Galileo II was enough to take Joshua out. Her focus shifted to her own situation.
“So what are you going to do? Sell me into prostitution like you do with so many other young women?"
“What am I going to do? Well, that is the question, isn’t it?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’re fate is in a bit of limbo at the moment. For now, I would enjoy my hospitality.”
"I don’t feel much of a guest right now. Not in this place.”
"A temporary base of operations, mi’lady. It’s previous purpose as a venue of vice has long since ended, as has my profession as proprietor thereof. The Clan invasion saw to that.”
"So you decided to become a rebel? How noble." said Lisa sarcastically.
"Someone had to." He said seriously. "This is my home too, princess. I may not be an esteemed member of this community, but this is still my community. The Falcons took it from me just as they took your father's throne from him. But I can't fight a war without men and supplies. Right now I have neither and it won't be long before the winter weather lifts and the Falcons send a force to retake
"Retake?"
"In case you are interested, I am quite a successful rebel. Less than a month ago, as the winter weather set in, my forces and I struck at the Edinburgh Clan garrison and killed them to the last man. We've been in control ever since, quite able to defeat the occasional scout team that's come sniffing by. With one notable exception....."
"Which is?"
"One week ago, a detachment of Elementals ambushed and captured a squad of my best infantry. I haven't been able to locate them to rescue them, but I do know that Star Colonel Kenichi has set up a command post roughly 30 klicks southwest of here. The harsh weather has prevented me from hitting it and has prevented him from sending more than token assault forces at me."
"Like the Kraken?"
"Kraken?"
"That’s what ComStar calls it. You may know of it as a Bane." To that, Sebastian nodded.
"No, that was one of the initial mechs in the garrison. Came upon it did you?"
Lisa nodded.
"It was tough. The motherfucker carries four anti-personnel machine guns. Cut two squads of my men to ribbons before we brought her down. Most of what he's sent in are roughly the same size, the lightest we've faced was a 50-tonner they call a Conjurer. Most are these refit designs they call Two-Cees, like Phoenix Hawk IIc or Warhammer IIc. Probably awesome designs against other mechs, but they can't handle massed infantry."
"So what do you propose to do now? You have my Fenris. It's not much of a match for any of the mechs you've spoken of."
“No, what I have is you.”
That sent a chill up Lisa’s spine. Sebastian stood up and continued. "No, the Clans have been fuming that they captured none of the ruling family when they took the planet. I guess they want to make an example out of someone important and hundreds of random villagers and townspeople haven’t been good enough. Now I have a scion of Clan MacLeod and he has thirty of my best men."
"A trade? How dare you?"
“You misjudge me, Lady Lisa. I wouldn’t dare hand you over to them. They’ll only give you to him.” He said with disgust. “and given the tender mercies you’ve already received at the governor’s hands, I’ll not stand for that.”
“Him? O’Malley’s alive?” Lisa exclaimed with fear in her voice.
“He is indeed and in league with our enemies. I won’t trade you. He’ll only kill you or worse as he’s done with so many others. But bait? To lure the Clanners in? That I will use you for.”
"These men won’t play by the rules with you, Sebastian. You’re a bandit and unfit for honor. There has to be a better way."
“I’ll welcome any ideas you might propose.”
“There’s a certain inconsistency in these Clanners. You say they’ve killed random villagers and handed women over to O’Malley for whatever barbarity he can come up with, yet they spare your rebels.”
“That is our salvation right now.
“So you’ll trick him by pretending to turn me over?”
“David and O’Malley may be barbarians, but they are efficient. Kenichi’s honor will be my gain and his undoing. You asked what I am going to do with you. Here is my plan. I need you, a trained mechwarrior to pilot your mech in battle against Kenichi’s forces. Your mech has flamers on it, which will allow it to penetrate the heavy snow.”
“One mech against an entire Clan battleforce is hardly fair odds.”
“I only need you to distract them. And you’ll not be alone.” He motioned for her to follow. She stood up and followed him to the back door of the brothel. He opened it forcefully, revealing to her a parking lot filled with modified vehicles and a few captured Clan military craft.
“Our ammunition and fuel supplies are low, but we can put nearly a company of light combat vehicles in the field at your side.”
“I do this on one condition.”
“Name it.”
“Get my husband out of there.”
“And if he’s dead?”
“Then he’s dead.” Said Lisa quietly, choking back tears.
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