Chapter Twelve - The Trial

Planetary Courthouse, Mar Negro
Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone, Federated Commonwealth
30 May 3053

The courtroom was filled to capacity with people. At the front, where the jury normally sat, were six of the eight Bloodnamed warriors of the 2^nd Falcon Jaegers, two of their number were seated elsewhere. Pryde was in the judge’s seat, overlooking the entire room. At the defendant’s table sat Logan, handcuffed. Beside him at the table was a big elemental warrior named Taman Malthus. Malthus was a rarity in the Falcons, a Warden like Mechlanthon, one who believed the Clans should leave the Inner Sphere alone.    

“I, Dal Pryde, Star Colonel of the Frost Falcons, call to order this court of law. In accordance with my personal wishes, the judgment and punishment for Captain Logan shall be handled in the way of the Inner Sphere. This will show him and all observers of the true inferiority of their ways. All will be seated.”    

“Of what am I being accused?” snarled Logan at Pryde.     

“Silence, Logan.” said Taman sternly. “The worse your behavior, the more harsh your fate.”

“This is a sham and you know it. Pryde has no respect for anything of the Inner Sphere. Why a trial if not just for show?” retorted Logan.

“These are the rules given to us. We will abide by them.”

“And you think…” Logan did not get to finish.

 “Did your client say something, Defender Malthus?” said Pryde.    

“My client wishes to hear the full list of charges against him, Star Colonel.”    

“Very well. I hereby charge Captain Logan of the Dark Rangers with the following crimes: Assault upon the rightful rulers of this planet and murder of the warriors of Clan Jade Falcon.”

“This is a joke.” retorted Logan.

Malthus ignored Logan’s indignation. He looked at Logan and pointed at the jury. “I am going to try and prove to the Bloodnamed warriors over there that Dal has no right to accuse you of these charges, that the actions you have performed are simply the actions of a warrior at war.”

“You’re taking this as serious as Pryde. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“If you want out alive, freebirth, then you play along.”

“Call your first witness, Taman Malthus.” said Pryde.    

Meanwhile, in the back of the courtroom sat two men. “This doesn’t look good.”    

“No, Logan’s in a bit of trouble. Hopefully Malthus can delay his execution long enough so that the Rangers can get here and rescue him.”

“They’ll never be able to do it without our help.”

“I know. By the way, where’s David?”

“Pryde’s stooge? Rumor has it he’s out looking for the Dark Rangers.”

“Then we’d best find them before he does.”

Testing Grounds
Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
31 May 3053

“So, you have found them after all.” said David, looking over a series of aerial photographs. The pictures showed the Blackblade well hidden within a large forest. Surrounding it were Cowboy’s Banshee, Rohan’s Crab, Doc’s Kintaro, and the battered shell of Nightmare.

“There is only the three of them left.” said the fighter pilot. “We can dispose of them easily, and without even bothering the Star Colonel.”    

“Yes, the Colonel is rather wrapped up in his trial for Logan.” David thought for a second. “How far away from here is their ship?”    

“Roughly 100 kilometers.”    

“Perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone.”    

“Excuse me?”    

“You there, technician.....” called out David.    

“Yes, Star Captain?”    

“I want those mechs fitted with live ammunition and energy weapons. Primary configurations. I am going to give them a trial by fire and their first kills will be the Dark Rangers.”

“Sir? Is that wise?”

“What better way to test our new acquisitions than to use them in real combat?”

---

“What do you make of this?” said the rebel leader, Thomas Kerlin, from the cockpit of his Thor. The captured Omnimech had been left for dead during the battles to take Alyina. The native partisan movement had gotten the mech functional again, although it was still in disrepair. It was one of a small handful of salvaged mechs, both Inner Sphere and Clan, possessed by the rebellion.

Kerlin was a former mechwarrior in the 10^th Lyran Guards, Victor Davion’s unit. The 2^nd Jaegers attack on Alyina during the early parts of the second half of the Clan War trapped the Davion Prince on planet. He eventually escaped, but lost two battalions of his unit. A small handful of survivors from those shattered battalions had joined the natives. Kerlin’s piloting skills had served them well.

His partner, Joseph was also a former Lyran Guardsman. Joseph glared at him from his mech, a Vulture. “We’d best be on the move. I think David has found the Rangers before us after all.”    

“Agreed” snarled Thomas as he kicked his mech into a run.    

---

Doc and Cowboy finished putting the last of their cargo into the back of an old gasoline powered van. “That should do it. Weapons, clothing, and assorted other tidbits to keep us alive in that urban jungle known as Mar Negro.” said Cowboy.

“Are we ready then?” asked Rohan, coming out of the dropship towards them.    

“Yes. You sure about this?” asked Cowboy.

“The Clans have Logan prisoner somewhere. Our best bet to find him is the capital city.” Said Rohan.

“Then let’s get going.” said Doc.

Rohan was about to get into the van when he paused.    

“What is it?”    

“I just had a funny feeling about something.”    

Cowboy and Doc had learned a long time ago to trust Rohan’s intuition about things. Doc took the driver’s seat and set down his glass of milk on the dashboard. “You still want to go?”    

Rohan ignored him, but focused on the milk. The surface of the liquid was vibrating every so many seconds. Doc noticed his commander’s attention and also spotted the vibrations.    

“Mechs.” said Doc and Rohan in unison.

“And nearby too.” finished Rohan.

“Lucky for us I was thirsty.” said Doc. “We’ve not gotten the perimeter sensors up.”    

With that, there was a loud crashing sound from deep within the woods. “We’ve got company.” said Cowboy, dropping his duffel bag and running for his Banshee.    

“Move the car.” ordered Rohan to Doc. He leaped back out and headed for the Crab.    

Doc drove the van back inside the dropship. He got out and ran to his mech. The Kintaro could still fight, even lacking its arm.

Rohan, meanwhile, was just beginning to power up his machine when the first Clan mech burst through the woods. It was the same sleek machine that had taken down Logan, its unpainted exterior giving it a very raw mechanical look. On its breast was a large white letter “A.”

The rabbit mech opened fire, slicing two pulse laser bursts into the Crab. The blow was devastatingly accurate, slashing two ugly gashes in the Crab’s armor.

Cowboy had been quicker and his Banshee was up and running. He turned the corner of the dropship and dropped his gunsights on the rabbit mech. He squeezed the trigger, firing his twin PPCs at the target. The rabbit mech sprang into a sprint, moving faster than Cowboy had ever seen a mech move. His shots missed cleanly.    

David smiled. His Avenger was again performing above and beyond specifications. Built as a fast attack mech, the Avenger was capable of faster acceleration than any mech in existence. Its high cruising speed and potent weapons systems made it more than a match for most Omnimechs, let alone Inner Sphere designs. Its high speed and ear-like ECM suite pretty much determined what the Inner Sphere would call this mech, thought David: the Jackrabbit.    

Cowboy swore, angered that he had missed. Rohan slowly brought his mech to its feet. Despite the nasty hit of two heavy pulse lasers, the Crab was still largely undamaged.    

A huge assault mech and a light mech came out of the forest next. The assault weighed in at nearly 100 tons and was bristling with weapons. Two large LRM racks sat on each shoulder, while each arm carried the barrels of two weapons. Cowboy could see a port for the spent shells on one arm, letting him know it mounted at least one autocannon. The other had no such port, making those energy weapons or gauss rifles. In either case, it didn’t look good. The mech was marked with a Greek Omega letter in white on its left torso, but bore no other markings. No camouflage either.

The design was the Turkina, a new Jade Falcon assault mech designed to replace the Daishi and the Masakari in their ranks. It was not a terribly novel design, save for the inclusion of jump jets. It was potent however. Unlike the Daishi, it was not handicapped by the heat of its firepower, but could easily bring its weaponry to bear without fear of shutdown.

The light mech looked like a variation on the Falcon’s tried and true Grendel design. Unlike the others, it was painted and carried an emblem, rather than a letter, on its right breast. Cowboy had heard of the Diamond Shark Clan, but he had never seen their emblem before.   

The Diamond Shark mech, a Piranha, was an anti-infantry garrison design, loaded with machine guns. It headed for the dropship, figuring its crew to be easier targets than the three Inner Sphere mechs guarding it.    

Cowboy had no intentions of allowing the Piranha to make it that far. He dropped his gauss rifle sight onto the swift little mech and fired. The shell connected solidly with its right arm, blowing through it and smashing armor on the mech’s right torso. The blow spun the Piranha around like a top and it crashed into the side of the dropship.    

Ignoring Omega proved to be an unwise move. It opened up with a full barrage of its weapons. Nearly all of it connected: 30 LRMs, two autocannons, and two PPCs. Its effect on the Banshee was devastating. Cowboy watched nearly six tons of armor vaporize in less than five seconds. The blow knocked the Banshee out of control, causing it to crash into the side of the dropship.    

“Jesus, what do they think we are?” snarled the dropship pilot upon hearing the mechs clang against the side of his ship. “They’re supposed to be protecting us, not helping the Clanners take us apart.”    

Rohan, meanwhile, had his hands full with David and his Jackrabbit. In the tight confines of the forest, Rohan’s jump movement was the only thing keeping any distance between him and it.    

David was no amateur as far as his piloting skills. He was, after all, Dal Pryde’s bastard son, born of Pryde’s rape of an exiled scientist when Pryde himself was still a cadet. David had proven himself very capable in his Trial of Position, gaining the rank of Star Commander at age 17. He had remained in positions of low regard until he joined his father in the assault on New Belfast. From then on, David had been Pryde’s aide and chief advisor.

David was getting frustrated. Rohan was always out of reach. “Damn you, stand still and fight like a warrior, you cowardly mercenary.”

“I should say the same of you. I saw how you fought Logan.” Retorted Rohan.    

Rohan and David’s sensors registered the new arrivals at the same time: a Thor and a Vulture. “Savashri!” swore David, “the damned rebellion. Well, let them deal with the Turkina.” With that, he broke off and fled into the woods.    

Cowboy’s mech was in shambles after a few more barrages. He had done little more than scratch Omega. The Piranha picked itself up and ran back into the woods, retreating. Omega turned to face two new opponents, a Thor and a Vulture, neither of which were in their prime. Both showed a large amount of battle damage.

Unlike the previous fight, Doc was doing well. His Kintaro had its share of new battle damage, but he had finished off the Piranha and was now moving to support Rohan against David.    

The new arrivals both converged their fire on the huge Turkina. Cowboy added a few shots of his own from his damaged arsenal. Rohan returned to the clearing and laid into it as well.    

“Rohan, what happened to you and that rabbit?” asked Doc.

“He took off. Apparently didn’t want to stick around and deal with these rebels. You look pretty shot up.”

“I got a mech kill.” Said Doc proudly. “I’m moving to assist Cowboy.”

“This thing’s a monster.” Said Cowboy. “Reminds me of the Balrog we fought on Dieron.”    

“Ugh” said Rohan in disbelief.

Facing five opponents was wearing the Turkina down. Rather than surrender the prototype mech to enemy forces, the pilot deactivated the magnetic bottle on his fusion engine. Rohan and the two rebel mechs immediately moved away. Cowboy’s mech was stuck though.    

“Shit, he’s self-destructing.” said Doc, moving his own mech up to a full run. “Close the dropship doors now.”    

Cowboy blew the emergency bolts on the canopy. He tore up the ladder and out of the Banshee. In a panic, he leapt from his battle damaged mech down to the dropship bay doors. It was a good 35 foot jump and he landed hard, breaking his ankle on impact.

Doc ran over and scooped up Cowboy in his mech’s remaining hand. He pulled the arm close to his own mech, hoping it would be cover enough from the exploding fusion engine. The plasma from Omega’s engine burst forth from its chest, incinerating the mech and nearly everything else around it. It splashed across the back of the Kintaro, boiling away armor, but in the end did little damage.

“Thanks Doc, I owe you one.” said Cowboy.

Neither the Banshee nor the Kintaro was as bad off as they could have been. But the battle damage the two mechs had sustain now after the two engagements was severe.

“No way we can take either of those machines into battle again.” Said Doc, surveying the damage. The two rebel pilots had joined the Rangers inside their dropship.

“If we can get these machines to our ‘base,’ we might be able to get repairs. We have a stockpile of mech parts that you can use, including armor. Not much we do about about the Kintaro’s arm though.”

“We appreciate the help.” Said Rohan.

“Let’s just say people like Logan and General Messer, who make it their business to kick Falcon ass, are something of local heroes.” said Thomas. “Word of your battle on New Belfast has been circulated here on Alyina since right after it happened. Sadly, we don’t learn much about other successes of units that don’t face off with the 2^nd Jaegers, so you guys get on the spot whether you deserve it or not.”

“Yeah, we want him freed.” said Joseph. “Trial or no trial, Pryde won’t let him leave this planet alive unless we do something.”    

“What exactly are they doing with him anyway?”    

“It’s all for show, of course; This trial.” said Joseph. “Making a mockery of our laws and our ways. Probably David’s idea. He’s the one who spends most of his time dealing with us. Still, mockery or no, what the trial has done is bought us all time.”    

“Do you have a plan?” asked Doc.

“Not yet. The security facility is well-guarded. The trial is open to the public, but trying to rescue him there will result in undue loss of civilian life. There’s just too many innocents around.”

“That’s intentional.” said Thomas. “They know how damaging it would be to our cause to hurt the very people we are trying to free.”    

“Then what are we going to do?”

“The trial should be over soon. My guess is an opportunity will open up. Until it does, we can try to figure out some way to get him out of the security center.”    

“Alright, then let’s get to it.”

2^nd Falcon Jaegers Command

Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
1 June 3053    

“You took the experimental designs against live targets?” exclaimed Dal Pryde in anger. “What kind of freebirth idiot are you?”

“You didn’t mind it when I fought the Rangers the first time in Avenger.” Retorted David.

“That could not be helped. You were ambushed. This time, you took them after them deliberately and cost us both the Piranha and the Turkina.”

“Forgive me, Father.” said David, feeling much smaller than the chair he was sitting in.    

“Do not call me that!” snapped Pryde. His hand lashed out and caught David under the chin. Pryde’s strength knocked David out of his seat and nearly over the back of it. He slumped back down into it quite out cold. “Freebirths! I had almost forgotten about how pathetic they are.”

When David came to, Dal had calmed down. “So the rebellion is helping then, quiaff?”    

“Aff.” said David weakly.

“Then that will be their downfall.”

“I have been monitoring the rebellion for some time.” Said David. “They are weak, but they have the support of the populace.”

“Hence the trial.” Said Pryde. “Have you uncovered their base of operations yet?”

“I have my suspicions.”

“They will have to do.” said Dal, sitting down and pressing a switch on his desk. “Star Captain Malthus, please report to my office.” He turned back to David. “Sometimes, your older methods work better. It is time the rebellion learned the meaning of brute force.”

Within a few minutes, Taman Malthus walked into Pryde’s office. The Warden scowled at David, who merely grinned devilishly at the Elemental.    

“What do you require, Star Colonel?”    

“Do not act so suspicious, Taman.” said Dal. “Just because we are opponents in the mock trial of Logan does not mean that the day-to-day business we work together on must be laid aside. I have recently uncovered the location of the rebel headquarters.”    

“And you wish for my elementals to clean it out?”    

“I do. Star Captain David will provide you the information you will need to plan your assault. Dismissed.”    

Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
2 June 3053    

“Taman seems more distracted today.” said Joseph. Rohan leaned over to listen to him.    

“Do you have any ideas yet on how to get him free?”    

“No, but Logan is getting impatient. It’s obvious that he knows he’s been had.”

“We all were.” Said Rohan. “O’Malley and Steiner were never here. This was a fool’s errand.”

“All of you are alive. Be thankful for that.”

Pryde struck the gavel to end the day’s trial. As everyone stood up to rise, an elemental came over to grab Logan and take him back to his cell. When the elemental grabbed his arm, Logan slumped forward.    

Rohan moved forward through the crowd. He was almost to the front when Logan snapped his head up, catching the elemental under the chin. The huge man staggered back, a little stunned. Logan jerked the man’s laser pistol from his belt and fired it into the elemental. There was a howl as the elemental fell over backwards. At that, all hell broke loose.    

Rohan began to move forward, but the crowd, panicked at the gunfire, hauled him back with it in their hurried attempt to flee the courtroom. Logan spun to bring the pistol to bear on Pryde, who had ducked behind the judge’s chair.    

Malthus jumped up and grabbed the pistol. With a firm yank, he pulled it free of Logan’s hands. A quick backhand with his giant fist sent Logan to oblivion and the guards quickly carried him off.    

Joseph grabbed Rohan by the shoulder. “Come on. There’s nothing we can do.” Rohan reluctantly followed the rebel out of the courtroom.    

“I wish we could somehow coordinate with Logan. If we could somehow get some of your men in there....” said Rohan.    

“A foolish plan, my friend. We would never make it past the front door on our way out.” said Joseph. He nodded to his left and his right, pointing out to Rohan the two large metal obelisks on either side of the courthouse. “Those obelisks are not part of the courthouse design. They were installed pre-fab only a few days before the trial began. I’d bet real money they conceal a pair of Grendel Omnimechs. This whole thing is a security risk for Pryde. You can’t expect him to not take some rather heavy handed precautions to compensate.”

Babeski
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
3 June 3053

Rachel DeVoras, her jet black Wolf Dragoon uniform blending in with the dark room, smiled unnoticed as the vidchip played. She quickly removed the gesture from her face as she spoke. “We intercepted this transmission from Alyina two days ago. It openly claims the destruction of the Dark Rangers at the hands of the 2^nd Falcon Jaegers. I’m sorry, but your leaders were led into an elaborate trap by Richard O’Malley. They were defeated, and given Pryde’s usual treatment of Inner Sphere prisoners, I doubt there were any survivors.

“Given that your special position with the AFFC was due to Logan’s status and not the units, your position is in jeopardy. Wolf’s Dragoons is willing to assist you in renegotiating your contract with the Commonwealth, or allow you to take another.”

Grayson was the first to speak. “This is a lot to throw on us at once, ya know. Give it to us line by line. What exactly are we in danger of losing?”

“Your current contract with the Federated Commonwealth is null and void. The lands on which your headquarters rest defaulted to the Barony of Babeski as of Logan’s death. Now, the Baron isn’t going to kick you off right now, but you have been given a deadline to vacate.”

“The little bastard negotiated everything into his name.” snarled Grayson. “Guess he planned to grab all the glory.”

“Not like we owe him anything now.” said Kai cynically. “So what are our other options?”

Rachel passed several dossiers around to the group. “Well, the Conspiracy has offered a contract almost as good as the FedCom one that was just voided. It involves raiding and preemptive strikes on worlds the Conspiracy has slated for conquest.”

Kai looked over the list of probable worlds. “All FedCom territories in Skye and Sarna marches. The bastards won’t send their own former FedCom units against loyalists, will they? They send in the mercs to do that work.”

“Not entirely true.” said Tim. “The 17^th Skye hit Chara for instance.”

“Why the hell would we want to work for them anyway?” said Grayson. “They’re the ones that got Logan and others killed to begin with, if indeed they were killed.”

“I agree, I’d rather not work for the guys who were trying to kill us a few months ago.” said Whitey. “I got the sense it was more personal than I would like. After all, why would O’Malley single out Logan and the others for his special little ambush of his anyway?”

“Personal against Logan perhaps.” underscored Gene. “Not against the Rangers.”

“We don’t know that.” Said Grayson.

“Old Lord Kurita slaughtered 75% of Wolf’s Dragoons in 3028 because of a personal vendetta against Jaime Wolf. Guilty by association.” said Whitey. “Duke Ryan doesn’t strike me as any more magnanimous, given he had Logan killed for nothing more than shooting down his one mech.”

“What’s the new FC offer?” asked Grayson out of curiosity.

“Reassignment to the Draconis March to cover units that were transferred to the Terran Corridor.”

“Garrison duty.” growled Gene. “Against our allies no less. Boring.”

Tim was the first to speak up in favor of the Conspiracy contract. “Why not? It’s got as good pay as the old deal, a deal which Logan was going to milk for himself as much as possible.”

“I’m with the big guy.” said Tony. Voices of approval began to be raised.

“I’m not.” Said Grayson.

“Nor am I, but it seems we are outvoted.” Said Whitey.

“Very well.” said Rachel. “As of 1200 hours today, I assume command of this unit in Logan’s name and will finalize the contract with the Conspiracy. I will relinquish that position at such time as you decide upon new leadership among yourselves. Now we will make the name of the Dark Rangers feared for itself and not its leader.”

Rebel Headquarters
Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
5 June 3053

“The trial should conclude tomorrow.” said Thomas. “I have a hunch that Taman Malthus will call for a Trial of Refusal against whatever verdict Pryde gives.”

“Meaning?” asked Rohan.

“That they will decide by combat who is right. Pryde versus Logan. To the death.”

“Hand to hand or Mech?” asked Doc.

“I don’t know. Either or neither, it depends on a coin toss and who wins. I’d be willing to bet Pryde could rock Logan’s world in hand-to-hand combat, but a mech battle would be more even.”

“Which one prescribes to Pryde’s ego more?” said Cowboy. “The bastard’s got an ego the size of Tharkad. He’s gonna fight whichever method humiliates Logan the most.”

“Good point. Since Logan is proud of his mech talent, Pryde’ll probably go for a mech battle.”

“If they do, what will we do?”

“Let’s assume for a second, Pryde and his jury all vote to kill Logan. Logan objects and the battle is set. That’ll put the seven Bloodnamed versus Logan. I’d imagine the battle will be somewhere outside the city.”

“So we find out where and sit there ready with our mechs. When Pryde and his goons set up this Trial, we ambush them and bug out.” said Cowboy

“What’s to keep the rest of the 2^nd Jaegers from nailing us on the retreat?” said Rohan.

“That’s were we come in.” said Thomas. With Pryde and the Bloodnamed out in the field, the command of the garrison will be spotty at best, left to David no doubt. We’ll hit with our rebel forces inside the city. That ought to distract David’s garrison forces long enough for you to get Logan out. Then, we’ll fade back into the woodwork and everyone’s happy.” The Rangers nodded their approval.

Before anyone could take even a few steps, a loud blaring alarm echoed through the base. “What the hell?” said Thomas. He dashed over to an intercom. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve got elementals at the front door. Almost a whole damn Star of ‘em.”

“How many exactly?”

“I count.....AHHHGH!” Then there was static. The whole base shook.

“Shit, we’ve been found out.” said Thomas. “Get to the mech bays. We’ll cover for you here.” Thomas reached into a locker and pulled out an assault rifle and headed up the corridor. “We’ll be with you shortly.”

Rohan and the others headed for the stairs to get below to the “mech bays.” The rebel headquarters was hidden right under Pryde’s nose, within an old warehouse on the ocean front in Mar Negro. The mech bays were made out of a pressurized bay beneath the building where submarine transports would unload their cargo. It had direct access to the ocean floor, which is how the rebels got their mechs in and out.

The Ranger’s mechs had been mostly repaired. Doc‘s own mech was still minus an arm, but its armor damage had been repaired.

The doors to the mech bay opened near the foot of Cowboy’s Banshee, easily the largest mech in the room. Doc headed across the room towards his Kintaro, only to catch a burst of enemy fire across the chest. Doc went spinning.

“Doc!” cried out Rohan. He reached out and pulled the tech back behind cover.

“Son of a bitch.” Snarled Doc. “That hurts.” Rohan ripped open Doc’s shirt to reveal his Kevlar vest. It had stopped the rounds cold, but did little to cushion their impact. “I’ll live.” Said Doc.

“Good.” said Rohan, sitting up and firing blindly at where he’d seen the muzzle flashes. He saw no one, only the occasional flash of a weapon discharge.

“Stealth suits.” moaned Doc. “Not very clan like.” He drew his gun and fired a shotgun blast at one muzzle flash. There was a splash of red and a howl of pain, both of which seemed to come out of thin air.

Since he had taken one of their own down, the hidden attackers now turned their weapons on Doc. One opened fire on him with a long burst. The bright long-lasting muzzle flash gave Rohan something to draw a bead on and he fired. His rounds landed solid against the attacker, dropping him before he completed his burst and chewed Doc to pieces with it.

“No, it is. But I’m not expecting Pryde to play fair.”

“These don’t discriminate.” said Cowboy, throwing something from his belt at the foot of the Thor where their opponents were hiding, “Hidden or not.” There was a loud pop and a whoosh as the incendiary grenade ignited. The hidden troops were no longer hidden as their stealth suits caught on fire. One spun and ran down the passage leading back to the sea, the rest were easy pickings as Rohan and Cowboy opened fire.

As if on cue, Thomas, Joseph, and a good number of other rebels came in the room at that moment. “Let’s get out of here.” said Thomas. A number headed for the remaining mechs, the rest to a series of small flimsy looking personal submarines. Cowboy climbed up his mech and powered up, just as a point of elementals came in the room. He pointed his twin heavy PPCs at them and opened fire, incinerating two of them and blasting the doorway to dust. He marched his mech forward, stepping on one caught in the confusing dust cloud. Cowboy meant to cover the door to cover the rebels’ escape.

The remaining two elementals withdrew, trying to regroup to face a mech over 45 times heavier than the two of them combined. It was the break the rebels needed. Their submarines sped out into the open sea, followed by the rebel mechs. Only the Dark Rangers remained.

“Let’s get our asses out of here now.” said Rohan. Spinning the Crab and heading out to the sea, the Dark Rangers followed him out.

DeTerre Collective
New Belfast
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
6 June 3053

Erik shoved his throttle forward and dove down to a mere 50 meters of altitude. Nape of the Earth flying was the only way to go on New Belfast’s flat plains.

“This is Alpha wing.” said Erik. “We are 30 seconds to enemy forces. Do you copy?”

“Copy that, Erik.” said Ryan Smith. “Dirty Dozen company 45 minutes out. Transmit data on our friends upon contact.”

“Roger. Here they are.”

Erik and Michelle’s twin Stingray fighters roared over the Star of enemy mechs. Erik spotted a number of second-line designs, no Omnimechs.

“Okay, Ryan, they’re second-liners.”

“Which Clan are they?”

“Steel Vipers. They never learn do they? And to think they didn’t even both to send an Omnimech force after us. I’m insulted.”

Erik glanced down at his tactical map. “Michelle, fire at will. Those enemy mechs are only twenty minutes from the DeTerre Grain Silos. If they reach those silos, this whole mission’s for nothing. Let’s see if we can slow them down until Ryan gets there.”

“Roger that, love.” said Michelle.

Erik pulled back on his stick to circle back around. A handful of laser and autocannon shots raced his way, but he deftly evaded them. “Pick a winner, Michelle.”

“I’ve already got one. That Viper.”

“I wanted that one.” whined Erik sarcastically. Erik jerked back on his stick again and pulled an Immelmann. He rolled right side up and flipped a couple of switches on his control panel.

“Bomb system ready.” said his computer.

Michelle meanwhile had begun a long Nape-of-the-Earth strafing run, catching the Viper in a long stream of laser fire. The lasers kicked up steam from the moist ground and scarred the heavy armor of the Viper.

“Dodge these, suckers.” said Erik, releasing his bombs.

One landed right at the feet of a Goshawk, knocking its legs out from under it. As the 30 ton mech fell, another bomb landed right on the head of a Griffin IIc. The mech exploded, showering the battlefield with debris. The rest fell randomly among the Clan mechs, throwing up dust and steam and causing general chaos.

“They’re pulling back to regroup.” noted Michelle. “One down and two damaged.”

“Copy that, Alpha wing.” said Ryan. “Our ETA is now 35 minutes to the Silos. We’ll intercept them there. Thanks for the help.”

“You’re welcome. See you back at base.”

---

“You should be out there.” said Daisaku. “I know how you dislike commanding your forces from behind a set of walls.” He poured a cup of coffee and offered it to Joshua.

Joshua took the offered cup but said nothing at first. “My officers are competent. I have complete confidence in Erik and Ryan.”

“I know you do, but that’s beside the point. You’ve not logged a single minute in your mech since we got back from Dieron.”

“You don’t need me out there.” said Joshua.

“This isn’t the kind of leader you aspired to become. I know losing Lisa was hard on you, but get a grip.”

The mention of Lisa’s name made Joshua’s eyes narrow in anger. It faded quickly and he looked down at the computer console, refusing to meet Daisaku’s eyes.

“I did it for her, Daisaku. All of it. All this was to give her everything she wanted. And look at what’s happened. We have the dirt. We have the plants. We have the towns and the buildings. We have the planet. But we do not have each other…not anymore. Between O’Malley and my own foolishness, we lost the most important thing of all.”

“You didn’t do all this just for Lisa and you know it. This was our mission, our destiny as Clan Wolverine.”

“And I have failed that as well. The edicts were right. The Star League was consumed and destroyed by the greed of men like Duke Ryan and Director Indrahar. Fools who cannot see beyond their own hatreds.”

“They’re not the only ones, Joshua. Right now, I think the commander of the Star Swords has the same problem.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean? I support the Star Alliance.”

“But you’re determined to destroy your most hated enemy…yourself.” Said Daisaku. “Don’t take the rest of us with you.”

With that, Daisaku turned to leave.

Third Battalion had withdrawn back to New Belfast by Joshua’s orders. The Clan raids, like the one Erik and Ryan were currently combating, had become more common and more determined. The Jade Falcons had launched two and now the Steel Vipers had launched their second as well. All within the last four months. Thus, Daisaku and his battalion were on New Belfast once more.

“On a slightly lighter note,” said Daisaku, pausing before walking out the door. “Have we heard anything from the Dark Rangers lately?”

“Word from the Dragoons is they did not make it. Just an unverified rumor.”

“And what do you think?”

“Logan’s tougher than that. Still, everyone else seems to believe it.”

“Bearing that in mind, what about his unit? A lot of Rangers remained behind.”

“That’s for Wolf’s Dragoons and the Babeski government to decide. It’s out of our hands. With Logan and other originals gone, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Conspiracy hires them.”

“Not exactly something to look forward to.”

“No, I don’t imagine so.”

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