Dated: 15 December 3052
To:
- Primus Shaliar Mori
- Precentor Martial Anastasius Focht
- Precentor Dieron
- Precentor New Avalon
- Precentor Tharkad
- Precentor Luthien
Free Skye Movement
For generations, the Isle of Skye district of the Lyran Commonwealth has fostered within its borders an independence movement. Lead in the ‘20s by Duke Aldo Lestrade, the FSM was dealt a crippling blow by their leader’s assassination in 3029. Despite growing resentment for the Commonwealth’s union with the Federated Suns, it would be 5 years before it regained its prominence. It emerged again under the leadership of Duke Ryan Steiner, cousin to Archon Melissa Steiner-Davion and Duke of Porrima. In 3034, open revolt on several Skye worlds was put down by Federated Suns troops. This did nothing to endear the peoples of the newly rechristened Skye March to their Davion allies. Duke Steiner remains in control of the FSM to this day.
His staunchest ally in the Estates General is Duke Selwin Kelswa, Duke of Tamar, who lost many planets to the Free Rasalhague Republic’s formation in 3035 and then later to the Clan Invasion. In both cases, he is resentful of the failure of both Davion and Steiner troops to protect his holdings. He is eager to avenge his losses on his rulers and may be prompting Steiner to action against the Alliance. Kelswa is well-known for his hatred of both the Draconis Combine and the Free Rasalhague Republic.
Draconis March Factions
On the Federated Suns half of the Federated Commonwealth, the most likely source of opposition to the Alliance will come from the Draconis March. Duke Aaron Sandoval, Duke of Robinson, is the district’s noble ruler. He appears to have taken no steps of opposition to the Alliance, save for political complains through the Davion Parliament.
However, it is not unlikely that the “Old Duke,” as he is affectionately know, will not be able to maintain complete control over the military units of his District. Foremost among these are the four regiments of the Northwind Highlanders, currently stationed on their homeworld after a short stint on the Clan front. Wolf’s Dragoons has recently adjusted their “Loyalty Rating” to questionable. It is possible that Wolfnet, the Dragoons intelligence operation, knows something that we have not yet uncovered.
Internal Security Force
In the Draconis Combine, the most powerful faction of opposition is the Internal Security Force. We are aware that the ISF are stockpiling armaments on Al Na’ir, a world bordering Federated Suns space. The majority of these arms consist of outdated Succession Wars mechs recently replaced by more advanced designs. However, it is believed that the mech factories at Al Na’ir are refitting these mechs with both Star League technology and Clan technology stolen by the Ryuken regiments. The exact loyalty of these elite troops is not certain, but we have reason to suspect that they are fully and knowingly a part of this operation.
Lyran and Davion intelligence is aware of the stockpile, but are reluctant to take dramatic measures to either confirm or destroy it. Overt military operations would do exactly what the ISF want, undermine the Alliance negotiations. Thus, DMI and LIC have done nothing.
The other Successor Houses
It is also known to us that Captain-General Thomas Marik has made covert offers to the Free Skye Movement. He is willing to supply them with arms, namely the advanced mechs being produced prodigiously by Marik factories. It is believed, but not confirmed, that Marik forces are already covertly within the Skye March, training and assisting a home-grown army under the command of either Duke Kelswa or Duke Steiner.
House Liao has no confirmed involvement, but appears to be offering arms to the anti-Alliance factions in the Draconis March. New supplies on Northwind have included several CTL-3L Cataphract Battlemechs, a Liao design. The exact origin of these mechs is not known.
The Clans
If the Clans are aware of the Star Alliance treaty, they have taken no notice of it. However, it is prudent to note in this report that a number of Jade Falcon units damaged in Operation : Counterstrike but did not participate in the battle of Tukkayid are back to full strength. They have begun raiding operations on Federated Commonwealth worlds, presumably to test enemy defenses. This will prevent a strong response by the Federated Commonwealth if anti-Alliance opposition turns violent.
This concludes my report.
Signed,
Precentor ROM Victoria Parrdeau
Chief of Operations, ROM
Lunar LaGrange Point L-2
New Belfast
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
26 December 3052
The massive Aegis cruiser Frost Falcon materialized at the pirate point opposite New Belfast’s primary moon. Hidden from view by the moon itself, the Jade Falcon intruders were undetectable from the planet.
“System entry complete, sir.” Said the helmsman. “The Star Swords have not detected our presence.”
“Excellent,” said Dal Pryde. “The Swords have spread themselves too thin. With their three battalions scattered across three worlds, it should be a simple matter to destroy them one by one.” Dal spun on his heel. “David, the ship is yours.”
“Sir?” asked his aide. “That was not the original plan. I was to go down to the surface to begin our scouting operation.”
“I have altered the plan. I will lead the scouting group personally. I will report back with success within 48 hours.”
“I await news of your victory, Star Colonel.” Said David.
Dal turned to leave, heading out the bridge door into the main hallway that ran the length of the warship. Taking hold of a small handle on the wall, he was pulled down the hall in zero-G towards the airlocks that led to the Frost Falcon’s complement of dropships. Although he had now lost no less than 3 machines in battle to the Star Swords, a shiny new Warhawk awaited him there, along with the other 9 mechs of his scouting binary. The Frost Falcon was carrying four dropships, two of the smaller Confederate class and two of the larger Union-C dropships. Dal’s scouting party would land on New Belfast aboard the Confederates.
“This time,” said the Clan commander, “This time I will not face defeat.”
Locksley Canyon
New Belfast
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
27 December 3052
A simulated PPC blast struck the heavy rock outcropping near Ryan Smith's Mad Cat, as the Swords mechwarrior deftly avoided the shot. Ryan slammed down on the footpads of his machine, bringing his 75-ton mech to a full run. As he did so, a warning alarm sounded.
“What the…?” said Ryan. He quickly ran his hands to the control panel to disable the simulator program. All the mechs in the wargames came to an abrupt stop.
“Not fair. I was just about to nail your ass.” Logan complained.
“As you were, Logan.” Said Ryan. “I’ve got a curious signal. Amanda, Davidson, form up.”
"Damnit, I'm getting tired of playing cat-and-mouse with General Messer's flunkies." Grumbled Logan to the other Dark Rangers as the two other Star Sword mechs walked past him to meet up with Ryan’s Mad Cat.
"Is there someone else you'd rather go up against?" said Cowboy.
“They say the General himself bagged over 20 kills in the Clan war alone.” said Doc, piloting a recently purchased STG-3R Stinger. “Plus about two dozen assists. Now that sounds like a challenge."
“No way we’re going to get Mr. High-and-Might-Fancy-Pants out here.” Pouted Logan.
“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Said Rohan. “You underestimate our trainer. Smith commanded the Dirty Dozen company during the Clan War. That unit made up for nearly 40% of all kills inflicted on Clan Jade Falcon by the Swords during the entire war.”
“Cut the chatter, folks” interrupted Ryan. “We’ve got trouble. We’re returning to base camp.”
"What's going on, Hauptmann?" asked Rohan.
"Got a strange radar signal. Looks like it could be a dropship entry.”
“Raiders?” asked Doc.
“Or a forward unit for an invasion.” Retorted Ryan. “I’ll bet real money it’s the Jaegers.”
“Who?”
“If the Swords as a unit have an arch-enemy, the 2nd Falcon Jaegers are it. Dal Pryde is still smarting from April, I’m sure.” Explained Ryan. “Either way, you guys aren’t ready for the real thing yet. We’re headed back to base.”
“We’ve all fought the Clans before.” retorted Logan. “We can handle them.”
“You have your orders, Logan. Time for you to learn how to follow them. All Dark Rangers, fall in.”
The seven mechs pulled northward, heading for the small city of Nottingham. The Swords had been training the Dark Rangers in the rocky portions of the MacKenzie Mountains for the past week. With three Swords mechs and the four mercenaries, Ryan wasn’t about to take chances with what he had discovered.
After several minutes of winding through rocky passages, the group found themselves forced by the terrain to move dangerously close to the area where Ryan strange radar contact had appeared.
“Enemy contact. Bearing 45 degrees.” Called out Amanda. “Ryan, whoever they are, they’re onto us and headed this way.”
“They’ve found us.” said Logan. “ETA 20 seconds. Damnit, Smith, give us weapons hot now!”
“Patience, Logan.” Said Ryan, as PPC and laser fire condensed on the rock wall behind the Sword mechs, triggering an avalanche of rock and snow. He scrambled to enter the code to bring the Dark Ranger’s weapons fully online.
"We've been cut off." swore Rohan. “Pass ahead shows four enemy mechs. No, make that five. Full enemy star.”
“Logan, I'm transmitting the activation code to your weapons now. You'll be combat-capable in a few seconds." said Ryan.
"Roger that, Hauptmann." Logan darted his mech toward a rock outcrop to take cover. Five Clan Omnimechs crested the hill, all painted in the pale grey and white camouflage of the 2nd Falcon Jaegers.
“Enemy contacts behind. We’re boxed in.” called Doc, who had been taking up the rear of the formation. He, of all of them, had the least Battlemech experience and the weakest machine present.
“All Rangers, fall in. I want a report of all contacts." said Logan. “I’m showing bogey's off to my right. Looks like an Uller and a Dragonfly."
"Shit." said Cowboy. "I've got two heading straight at me. Looks like a Thor and a Loki." More laser and missile fire as the enemy forces closed into range.
Rohan spoke up next. "Final mech is a Grendel or maybe a Fenris. They're so hard to tell apart."
“Doc, what do you have?”
“Group of five, closing fast. Shit! It’s a big one. A Masakari." said Doc.
“Pryde.” Said Ryan. He opened a channel. “Welcome back to New Belfast, Star Colonel. Didn’t get enough asskicking the last time you were here?”
If it was indeed Pryde in that Masakari, he said nothing.
"Logan, attempt to fight your way out. Get to Nottingham. These are no ordinary Clanners." Said Ryan. “Forward. Clans don’t like it up close and personal.” He rushed his Mad Cat at the two mechs moving into firing range of Logan’s Awesome.
Logan spun his Awesome about. “I’ll hold the rear. Doc, show us what that engine with legs can do.” He trained his triple PPCs on the Masakari and let loose. Doc brought his machine up to speed and dashed behind the Awesome as lasers and missile fire flew through the air.
The Masakari moved forward methodically and fired with his own PPCs at the Awesome. Not foolish enough to fire all four and risk the heat spike that would produce, he fired only two. Two however was more than enough to knock Logan back several meters from the impact.
“Out of my way, freebirth.” said the Masakari pilot. “I did not come here to trifle with mercenaries.”
“It’s Pryde alright.” said Ryan to himself.
“The rest of the Dirty Dozen’s scrambled.” said Amanda. “They’re on their way.”
"How long will it take?"
"About five minutes. Let's just hope Logan is as good as he boasts."
"If not, this is all for nothing. Cover me." said Ryan, cutting loose with PPC and missile at a Clan Thor as he moved to close with Dal Pryde.
Castle MacLeod
New Belfast
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
27 December 3052
Joshua lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. Only two days after Christmas, he was enjoying his holiday, leaving the day to day operations of the Swords to his officers, including the Mercenary Training School. He glanced to his side to see Lisa lying there next to him, sleeping peacefully. It was a pleasant sight. Often times, her sleep was plagued by nightmares, but not today.
“Not often I get the chance to sleep in this late.” Mused Joshua to himself. He rolled over and let his arm snake around Lisa at her waist. He affectionately rubbed at her pregnant belly. Lisa twitched at his touch, as she far too often did. Joshua jerked his arm back, fearing her reaction. He did not realize she was awake.
To his surprise, she reached out and took his hand and moved it back to rest on her belly. “It’s okay.” She whispered.
“You sure?”
She turned her head to look at him. “Yes, I’m sure.” Despite her words, she trembled at his touch.
“It’s going to be soon.” Said Joshua, rubbing her belly.
“Yeah. Just a few more days.” She sighed. “You’ll have your wife back again. Not this bloated whale I’ve become.”
Joshua chuckled. “I’ve never seen you more beautiful.”
“Please. Don’t flatter me.”
Joshua smiled. “You’re more yourself today than I’ve seen you in a long time.”
“I’m trying, Joshua. I…”
“I know you are.” He leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. To his surprise, she turned so he planted one on the lips.
“The long dark may soon be over…” began Joshua. The shrill ring of their residence vid-phone interrupted him. Joshua let out his breath in frustration.
“That had better be something important.” Complained Lisa as Joshua took to his feet to answer it.
Joshua picked up the receiver and listened. He looked to Lisa. “Important? Yeah. It’s Pryde. He’s back.”
---
Joshua stormed into the command center with his uniform jacket still unbuttoned. "What's going on, Erik? I was enjoying my time off. Lisa’s even been good lately."
“Nice to hear. Not my fault, Josh. The moment we’ve been waiting for these last eight months has arrived. The 2nd Jaegers, or at least a binary of them, made planetfall near Nottingham.”
“The Mercenary School?”
“Yeah. Ryan was in the field with the Dark Rangers early this morning. He’s made contact with the Clan force. Pryde is leading them.”
“So they've picked a fight with Ryan. Not a good move on their part. How soon can we get reinforcements there?" asked Joshua.
"Johnson’s Company is stationed at Edinburgh, some 500 kilometers to the north of the battle."
"That's at least eight and a half hours for them to arrive. How long will it take you to get fighters there?"
"I can have a squadron in Nottingham in less than an hour. It will take LEO transit and we'll be out of fuel upon arrival."
"Do it, and lead it personally. It will take far less time for you to land and refuel than to have Johnson come to the rescue."
"Understood. I'm leaving now." Erik tossed the clipboard in his hands onto a nearby desk and darted out the door.
MacKenzie Mountains
New Belfast
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
27 December 3052
Doc winced as his mech’s left arm came off at the shoulder. Half of his status board showed red. "I'm getting the shit kicked out of me over here." he cried out.
"We are aware of the problem." said Cowboy. Cowboy spun and let loose with his gauss rifle, the weapon TharHes had been kind enough to replace his AC/10 with. The gauss shell struck the Uller square in the chest, blowing it apart.
"Thanks, Cowboy."
"Any.....Arrgh!" A barrage of pulse laser fire run up and down Cowboy's Highlander. The moment he'd paused to save his friend had left Cowboy vulnerable to the Loki’s attack.
Amanda moved to intercept and the Loki pilot changed focus. His Loki cut into hers with more pulse lasers. Lightly armored, Amanda’s already battered mech took heavy damage. Amanda’s status board went red as sparks flew about her cockpit.
“I’ve got fire in my starboard torso weapons pod.” cried Amanda. “Ryan, get your ass over here and help me.”
“I’ve got my hands full, dear.” said Ryan. As if to illustrate that point, Pryde spread his arms apart, placing one pair of PPCs on both Logan and the newly arriving Ryan. He fired a barrage at Ryan and let the other set cool off for a minute.
Logan, for one, was glad Pryde had decided to give him a momentary break. Pryde was better than any pilot Logan had ever seen. He moved The Nightmare, his Awesome, to cover. The Nightmare was badly damaged, as was Ryan’s Mad Cat. Pryde was a master of cycling the incredibly hot weapons on the Masakari, keeping his mech at a constant temperature and level of efficiency. Most of the Awesome's weapons had been destroyed, leaving Logan with almost no offensive power. Only the Awesome's tough armor had kept him from succumbing Pryde's attacks completely.
Logan was no fool. Ryan may have been one of the most skilled of the Star Swords, but even he and his Mad Cat were no match for Dal Pryde. "It will take both of us to defeat this bastard."
Doc was watching the dance of death play out between Loki pilot and his foes. Disgusted by the cruelty of the Clan pilot, he kicked his already mauled mech into a run, imposing his chassis in the path of the Loki’s final killing barrage.
Pulse lasers cut the Stinger apart like wheat in a thresher. Doc yanked on his ejection lever, blasting himself skyward just as a pulse laser took off his mech’s head like a guillotine. The Stinger exploded beneath him as he flew to safety.
The explosion blinded the Loki for a second, giving Cowboy the chance to move in close. Not far away, Logan howled in rage, letting out a string of profanities that had become his trademark battle cry. “Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!”
The Nightmare roared out of his cover and charged straight at the Masakari. Pryde's weapons were trained on Ryan, and the Clanner tried to spin them to face the new threat. Ryan hunched the Mad Cat down and let loose with his twin twenty pack missile launchers. The missiles and Logan smashed into Pryde at the same time, some of the LRMs ripping into Logan's mech by accident. Pryde staggered back and fell on his rump. Ryan swore. He had one more volley of LRMs left and he knew it would likely be a killing blow to that Masakari.
“Damnit, Logan. You're blocking my line of sight. This passage is too narrow for me to get around you."
“Got you, you Clan bastard." swore Logan in pride. He had beaten Star Colonel Dal Pryde. Or so he thought.....
Pryde skillfully brought his mech back to his feet, ramming into the gut of The Nightmare as he did so. The blow knocked Logan back a few paces. As he finished the standing motion, Dal let loose with two PPCs into The Nightmare's left knee. The incredible energy of the twin particle cannon vaporized the entire knee: armor, muscles, actuators, all the way through and out the back. The Nightmare crashed to the canyon floor, crippled and helpless.
Pryde stood up. Ryan locked his targeting sight on his Masakari.
"Hold you fire, Ryan, or I will slaughter this barbarian where he sits."
"I've heard about how well you keep your promises with hostages. I remember Angela Patterson, you bastard."
“Then you know not to trifle with me.”
Nearby, Cowboy brought the heavy fist of his Highlander’s left arm down on the top of the enemy Loki. That led its pilot to back off. He knew the battle was theirs. He brought the twin sights, one for each pair of pulse lasers to align with the Highlander’s center torso. Although heavily armed, such a concentrated hit would do massive damage.
Pryde, meanwhile, spun his other arm up and fired at Ryan's knee. The result was the same as it had been for Logan. Ryan's Mad Cat crashed on its back, as helpless as Logan.
"Damn that targeting computer." swore Ryan. His mech must have been an easy target that close and that immobile within the canyon walls.
“Star Colonel, new contacts. Enemy aerospace fighters approaching fast on this position from the southwest.”
“I want prisoners. One of them may be Not-Named.” ordered Pryde, just as the Loki eviscerated the Highlander. His engine and gyro badly damaged from the hit, Cowboy’s mech fell over on its back, crippled.
“You’ll not take me alive.” said Ryan to himself, popping open the hatch of his mech. He dropped down to the ground and made to run. The Masakari moved to cut off any escape on foot for the former Wolverine. Ryan was gambling that Pryde would not fire. Those PPCs would do little more than give the obsessed Clanner a bit of ash as his “proof” of Ryan’s Wolverine origins. However, he soon noticed the Dragonfly closing with him. The primary configuration of that mech carried an anti-personnel machine gun, more than enough to kill Ryan, but still leave a corpse from which to extract his genetic code. Behind it was the Grendel, a mech notorious for its array of the same weapon.
Fear crossed his face as the medium mechs closed to within a few dozen meters and encircled him. There was nowhere he could run.
“This isn’t over.” barked Logan, bringing The Nightmare up on one arm. He fired a single PPC, not at any mech, but at the cliff-face above Ryan. The plasma blasted rock into powder, creating a dust cloud. Ryan saw his chance and ran for the cover of the cliff.
“Stravag! If you cost me this prize, I will personally have you flayed alive!” snarled Pryde. Another PPC flash finished The Nightmare.
Three Thors and a Mad Cat turned the corner further up the pass, alerting the 2nd Jaegers that the rest of the Dirty Dozen had arrived. Down two mechs with three others badly damaged, the binary knew the remaining seven mechs of the Dirty Dozen company was more than a match for them.
“We must withdraw.” said one of Pryde's warriors, using his pulse lasers to lay down covering fire as the last three mechs of the company appeared behind the first group; Two Man O’Wars and a Masakari.
“So close” snarled Dal, backing away. He paused at the wreckage of The Nightmare, lowering the PPCs to point at The Nightmare's cockpit. "You have brought defeat to me this day, my friend. You are a bold warrior, worthy of my respect. Tell me, what is your name?"
"Logan."
"I will remember this, Logan. We will meet again. All Jaegers retreat…for now." With that Pryde turned and disappeared into the canyon.
“Orders?” said the lance commander of Amanda.
“Do not pursue.”
Within the hour, the devastated training unit was discovered by Erik's fighters. With assistance of the Dirty Dozen, the pilots were retrieved. Several heavy VTOLs were transported the mechs, or what was left of them, back to Edinburgh.
Of all the Ranger mechs, only Rohan's agile Crab escaped severe damage, having been fortunate enough to be crippled early on by a luck shot to the hip from the Grendel’s large laser. Both Ryan's Mad Cat and his wife’s Loki suffered severe damage among the Sword mechs.
“We were lucky.” said Ryan as the VTOL carried them away.
“So that’s what we’re up against?” asked Logan. “My God. This was supposed to be a training operation. Now three of my mercenary lance’s mechs are smashed beyond repair. We’re finished.”
“You’re alive. Be thankful for that.” Retorted Ryan.
---
Dal Pryde fumed as he marched his Warhawk back through the canyon towards his dropships. “Defeated again! How is this possible?” he said to himself. “I pick one of the most isolated areas of the planet to drop into and there is still a Swords company within easy reach of me.”
“Star Colonel, what are you orders?” came the voice of one of his mechwarriors, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Long range radar detects incoming dropship. Carrier class.”
“Aerospace fighters.” Mused Pryde. “Mechwarrior, move to this nav point and burn the village you find there.”
“What purpose will that serve, sir?”
“You were given an order, warrior. I expect you to carry it out. ETA on those fighters?”
“30 minutes.”
“After you complete your orders, rendezvous at the dropships. We’re returning to the Frost Falcon.”
---
Logan fumed as he looked at the battered remnants of Nightmare. “And he says we were lucky.” He snarled.
It was now several hours after they were evacuated from the battlefield. A Swords recovery team had gone back and retrieved their mechs. It was an unpleasant sight.
“The Crab and Nightmare are repairable.” Said Rohan. “The Highlander might be. It’s not a total loss.”
“Even so, where are we going to get the money to repair what we have? The TharHes contract will not cover this. What are we going to do?”
Jael shrugged. The Rangers dropship pilot had recently flown up to join his comrades. “Couldn’t tell you. The Swords were kind enough to ship our machines back here.”
“Well, you could take this wreckage and ship us back to Twycross.” Said Logan. “Oh, we just went on a little training mission.” Logan said the last part in a sing-song voice.
"Don't give yourself a eulogy so quickly, Logan.” said a new voice. It was Ryan. “You guys got caught in the middle of a long-standing vendetta between ourselves and the 2nd Jaegers. Yet, you also performed admirably. General Messer has seen fit to order our techs to repair your machines at no cost. He also put in a request to release some of our Clan weaponry to upgrade them."
“What did you say?” said Logan, not believing his ears.
"You mean, we're going to get Clan weapons mounted on our mechs?" said Cowboy enthusiastically.
“Fat lot of good it does me. My mech is destroyed beyond repair.” grumbled Doc.
“We’ll figure something out to remedy that as well, Doc.” Said Ryan.
“Why would he do that?” said Logan suspiciously. “General Messer has not exactly been terribly fond of me.”
“That was one isolated incident.” Said Ryan. “Joshua’s had a lot of confidence in you from the start. Thus far, his faith has not been in vain.”
“So you’re saying he likes us after all?” said Logan.
“So long as you keep your hands to yourselves, yes.”
Logan clapped his hands. "Well, now that you mention it, maybe we aren't licked after all. Now about this request...."
Castle MacLeod
New Belfast
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
28 December 3052
Lisa watched helplessly as Robert approached the bed. No, she was doing it all over again. "I can't go through with this again. I must stop myself."
The slamming of a door made Lisa jolt awake. The nightmarish image of Robert O'Malley faded rapidly as a sharp pain shot through her abdomen. Her mind raced in terror. "That was a contraction. I know it was."
Joshua walked into the bedroom with a disgusted look on his face. "Oh, great, it's been a bad day. Well, dear, it's about to get worse." thought Lisa.
Joshua let out his breath. “Pryde hit us, but it could have been worse.” He said ruefully. “They nearly killed Logan and his mercenaries and also burned down a village of 800 people, many of whom died. But it was no invasion. Nothing more than a raid.”
"Joshua, it's time."
"Oh." said Joshua, undoing his belt and letting Anduril drop to the floor. Lisa waited a few moments for it to sink into Joshua's thick head. "Oh, my God. It's time." Fear crossed his face as he realized what Lisa had discovered moments before.
“What do we do?"
"Plan A." said Lisa, trying to lighten the mood.
"Right. Plan A." said Joshua, putting his belt and Anduril back on. "What was plan A?"
Lisa stood up. "Contact Dr. Jefferson. Better get a hold of Erik. I have a feeling this is going to be a long labor."
"Joy, that's all I need. Come on and get dressed."
---
Erik Iolair was already at the infirmary when Joshua and Lisa arrived. Dr. Jefferson came up. "Lisa, I just got word."
"Just about right on the due date."
“And it still sneaked up on me.” complained Joshua to himself. “I’ve been far too caught up in this renewed aggression by the Clans. I’ve got to be careful not to ignore Lisa. Just because she’s starting to behave closer to normal, doesn’t mean she’s there yet.”
"Alright, Lisa. We've gone through what to expect, so you just lay back on this gurney and try to relax." Jefferson looked as anxious as Joshua and Lisa. "Joshua, if you'll follow the nurse there, she'll prep you for the birth room. The rest of you stay here."
"Aye, Doctor." said Erik with a grin. He was maintaining a cheerful mood, hoping it would dull the anxiety his friends were feeling.
Joshua kissed Lisa's forehead and watched as Jefferson rolled her away. "This way, General." said the nurse, beckoning for him to follow her.
Ryan Smith came running up behind them. "I convinced Mike into taking over for me. What's up?"
"You got here quick. They just took Lisa back."
“Yeah, I was en route when I got word. Came here straight from the spaceport. Where’s Joshua?”
“They’re getting him ready. I guess he’s going to take part in the birth.” Said Erik. "I hope she'll be alright. Doc Jefferson’s a lot more nervous than he should be for such a simple procedure.”
“He might be concerned with the emotional aftershocks of what Lisa’s about to go through.” said Ryan. “She was already nuts before. Imagine what finally giving birth to the child of that monster might do?”
“There’s still no proof of whose child it is.” Reminded Erik. “And it would seem, at least to Joshua, that it doesn’t matter.”
“Does it to Lisa?” asked Ryan grimly.
“Good point.” said Erik, lighting a cigarette. "But there's nothing we can do about it except wait."
"And pray." added Ryan.
---
"Okay, Lisa. Just take some deep breaths. Joshua will be here shortly." Jefferson looked down at her with a reassuring smile.
Another contraction struck Lisa and she convulsed with pain. They were coming much more quickly now. "Something must be wrong." she thought.
Joshua came walking in a few second later. He quickly moved to her side. "How are you holding up?" he asked.
"I'm scared."
"So am I. Everything will be fine."
"You don't know that."
"Fine time to be realistic, Lisa." thought Joshua. He ran his hand through her hair, already matted with sweat. “Don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong. It’s not early or late. Physically, everything’s going perfectly.”
“I’ve never done this before.” said Lisa, as if trying to explain her fear.
“I know. Neither have I. But there’s no reason to panic.”
"Doctor, you'd better come take a look at this." said one of the nurses at a nearby monitor.
Dr. Jefferson left Lisa's side to check out a monitor. Worried murmurs came over to Lisa and Joshua's ears. Jefferson walked back over to the couple.
“Perhaps you spoke too soon.” said Lisa, just before another contraction ripped through her.
"Joshua, I'm going to ask that you stay outside in the waiting room." said Jefferson diplomatically. That didn’t matter. With Lisa screaming in pain, it would have taken a Battlemech to move Joshua from his spot.
"Wait just a damn minute. I'm not going anywhere without good reason. What's wrong?"
“There's nothing to worry about. They'll both be fine. Just please come with me."
"I'm not going anywhere unless you level with me, Doctor."
Jefferson motioned that he would speak with Joshua out of Lisa’s earshot. Joshua retorted to that. “She, of all of us, should know.”
Jefferson got insistent and Joshua relented. He walked over to the side of the operating theatre with Jefferson.
Another contraction hit Lisa again. She didn't want Joshua to go. "Joshua, come back." she wailed.
Joshua was about to turn when Jefferson grabbed him. “Listen to me. There is something wrong, but it’s not anything major. I don’t want Lisa to know because it’ll only panic her and you know it.”
“She already suspects, Doctor. Telling her certainly couldn’t panic her more now.”
“If you hadn’t made such a damned show of this....” he held his anger in check. “There’s not much time. Her contractions are coming very fast. Now let me do my job or this small problem will get a lot worse.”
“What’s wrong?”
“He’s not turned. If he comes out breech, he may strangle himself on his own umbilical cord. Now go. There’s no time.”
Joshua walked outside, trying his best to resist Lisa’s desperate pleas for him to stay.
"What happened?" asked Ryan, who just noticed Joshua had been left the room.
"Jefferson kicked me out; there’s some sort of complication.”
“Oh, God, Joshua. Will she be alright?”
“I don’t know.”
---
Inside, Jefferson rapidly returned to Lisa’s side. His nurses came over, bearing a tank of nitrous oxide and a few IV bags.
"Lisa, there's a minor complication. We're going to have to put you under."
"No, don't do that. I don't want to go under. I want to push. It hurts. Please let me push!"
Jefferson was confused by Lisa's response. Figuring that the pain and fear had made her delirious, he decided to tell her what was going on. "Okay, I'm going to explain quickly what's wrong. Your child hasn't turned and the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck. If you give birth now, it will strangle itself. It will die."
"Let it. Damnit!" she screamed. “Rid me of this curse!”
Jefferson wondered if this voice he was hearing was Lisa in her madness or the real honest-to-God sane Lisa he’d cared for since she was a child. But it was too late for it to matter. "It could injure you as well." he said.
"I don't care." responded Lisa. “Death would bring me peace.”
“It is the sane Lisa.” thought Jefferson. “Granted she’s to the point of desperation, but it’s her alright.”
"I don't have time to discuss this. Nurse."
“No!"
"I'm sorry, Lisa. We'll discuss this when you awaken."
---
What seemed like hours later, Joshua paced the floor outside. "Something's wrong. What's taking them so long?"
Ryan checked his watch. "They've only been in there 45 minutes, Joshua. Labor sometimes takes several hours."
"Her contractions were less than three minutes apart when she went in there. She should have given birth by now."
Jefferson stepped out a second later. Joshua moved menacingly at the doctor.
"There were some problems." said Jefferson. "It came too quickly. We couldn’t put her under for cesarean in time. It was a breech birth. But we managed to keep the child alive and uninjured. Lisa however received some injury to her birth canal, but she will be alright."
“So what’s the good news?” said Erik.
"Approximately 15 minutes ago, Lisa gave birth to what appears to be a healthy baby boy."
“Congratulations, Dad." said Erik. He was just beaming. Joshua looked about at his friends and noticed they were all as jovial.
Joshua’s lips curved into a smile. He fought against it for a second. “About Lisa?”
“She’ll be fine.” said Jefferson reassuringly. “I wouldn’t be too concerned.”
Joshua let go and began to cry. They were tears of joy though, as the huge grin on his face attested. "Can I see her?" he asked.
"Yes, she's in the recovery room now. We had to sedate her, so she's still unconscious."
“Show me the way."
---
Lisa awoke a few hours later. It was dark outside her room. Sleeping quietly beside her bed was Joshua. He must have nodded off waiting for her to awaken.
"How much of that stuff did he give me?" Lisa muttered to herself. She winced as pain wracked through her abdomen. "Jefferson wasn't kidding. I must have hurt myself."
She reached over and shook her husband awake. "Joshua, wake up."
"Wha? Oh, you've come to."
“Yeah."
"How do you feel?"
"Sore."
"Jefferson said to expect that. That passage has to stretch quite a bit to deliver its package."
“I thought he was going to do a cesarean. He was trying to put me under.”
“Our little boy had other ideas. He wanted out too quickly.”
“It’s a boy?”
Joshua nodded.
“Did it come out alright?”
“He’s fine. I’ve already seen him, Lisa. He’s absolutely beautiful.”
Lisa smiled. “You seem happy.”
“I am. More than I’ve been in a long time.”
“So am I.” She tried to sit up, wincing from the pain. "I think I got stretched too much."
“You're correct, I guess. Jefferson said there was some damage, but in the long run you should be fine."
“Damage?”
“He said it was nothing to worry about. Said it might give you problems with future children, but he doubted it.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” said Lisa, dropping back into her pillow. She was still groggy. “Where is he? Can I see him?”
“Soon.”
"I hope so."
Dr. Jefferson came through the door a minute later. "Well, it's nice to see you awake, Lisa. How do you feel?"
"Fine, I guess. How is he?"
"Your son. Couldn't be better. Would you like to see him?"
“Ask and you shall receive.” said Joshua flippantly.
“I noticed Lisa’s regained consciousness from her monitor at the nurses station down the hall. Do you think you can walk? It might be a little painful."
"I'll try." she looked at Joshua. "With a little help."
"Lead on, Dr. Jefferson."
As the trio walked down the hall, Jefferson in front, Lisa leaning on Joshua for support, Joshua spoke. "You know, now that we have a son, what are we going to name him?"
"Any ideas?" said Lisa.
"I thought about naming after either Matthew Jiwe or Isaac. Sort of a memorial to them."
"Somehow Matthew Isaac MacLeod doesn't sound right."
"MacLeod?" Joshua queried.
"I am the nobleborn of the two of us. He should take my family name. Besides, doesn't he have to earn his last name among your people?"
"True, but let's worry about the first name for now. You didn't like my idea. What's yours?"
"I like the idea of a memorial. A way to keep a memory of someone special alive. I was thinking of naming him after Daniel."
“I think that’s fair.” said Joshua. He was not found of the name however, because everyone he knew by that name seemed to meet unfortunate fates. Daniel was the name of Gwen's brother who killed himself after failing to place in his trials back on New Vision. That devastated her. Lisa's fiancé was also a Daniel. He died in a Rasalhague raid. That devastated her as well. Two different people; Two different Daniels, but both died horrible lonely deaths. It was not a legacy Joshua wanted his son to inherit.
“We could give him three names. It’s not an uncommon practice among the nobility.” said Lisa. “After all, who am I but Lisa Anna Marie MacLeod.”
“I thought you had but one middle name.”
“I usually run them together, but I do have two. Named for my two grandmothers.”
“Then he shall be Daniel Isaac Matthew MacLeod.” said Joshua with a half-smile. It was a compromise, but it worked.
“Aye.”
“Here he is.” said Jefferson, stopping at the nursery and pointing in. A tiny little baby lay within, sleeping soundly. Already he had a few wisps of red hair on his head. Lisa touched the glass and leaned forward.
“He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” she whispered.
“Just like his mother.” said Joshua, kissing her on the cheek.
Lisa turned towards Joshua. Like her husband some hours before, her eyes began to fill with tears. She said nothing, but put her arms around Joshua. Joshua held her, knowing full well that Lisa’s tears were not entirely of joy. Her feelings were confused.
“This is the greatest day of my life. But I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve any of this. Don’t give it to me. It shouldn’t be mine.”
Next Chapter
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