Part Two - The Sword Shatters

Chapter Eleven - For the Loyalty of Mercenaries

Dark Rangers Headquarters
Babeski
Tamar March, Federated Commonwealth
20 April 3053

“The last three mechwarriors for the new Dark Rangers arrive today.” said Cowboy to Logan.

Logan who watching TV looked back at his friend. “Who’s on the list for today?”

“One Kai Tatsumea, former Solaris fighter. The second is named Craig Chakford, something of shady character. The third is someone I believe you might remember. Name’s Grayson Bell.”

“Where would I have met this guy?” said Logan curiously.

“He’s was that crewman that TharHes loaned out to us for The Fury. He’s got some mech experience.”

“Oh, that Grayson. Cool. That brings us up to twelve, right?”

“Sure does. Speaking of The Fury, I wonder what Jael’s up to?”

“Who knows. I guess he figured a little left out when we got all the goodies on Dieron and he didn’t get shit because he wasn’t there.” Logan’s face turned harsh. “Bastard ran out on us.”

“You can’t really blame him. We’re too big to use his ship now and we can’t afford the upkeep on it without making use of it. He’ll find some other group to latch onto. Good dropship pilots are always in demand.”

“Why do you think I wanted to keep him?”

“He wouldn’t give up The Fury.”

“Bastard.” repeated Logan. “It’s just a machine.”

“And you’d shoot me if I said the same about The Nightmare.” said Cowboy.

Logan glared at his companion and quickly changed the subject back to the business at hand. “Who has mechs?”

“Craig’s got an Assassin. Grayson’s got a beat up Shadow Hawk that apparently he’s been scraping together for a while. I talked with him about a week ago. Seems he’s been using his pay from TharHes to buy a used mech.”

“Kai’s out of luck then?”

“Seems that way. He’s an arena fighter. I was thinking he’d be good for our little gift from Kurita.”

“The Venom? I thought you wanted it.”

“It proved to not be quite what I wanted after all. Too lightly armored for my fighting style. Doc’s putting together a refit package for my old Crab that’s pretty nice. Jumpjets and a reinforced claw for physical attacks. Kai can have the venom.”

“Very well, that would be a good choice for him. Any way, when are they scheduled to arrive?”

“In about two hours.”

“Have the company assemble an hour after they arrive. It’s time to make everything official.”

Logan walked into the common area of the headquarters with Cowboy. He looked about the room and took in everyone. Most everyone was already present. Only Grayson was not here yet, apparently not quite settled in.

Sitting in one corner was a small intellectual looking man. He and Rohan were pondering over a chessboard. That would be Gene Stanz, a former academy instructor at the Blackjack School of Combat. A natural tactician, Gene was a natural at games like chess and was beating the former Kurita mechwarrior soundly.

Logan smiled and his eyes moved onto the next pair. Doc was talking with one of the new arrivals: the one named Craig. There was something shifty about him, and their conversation topic only confirmed such suspicions.

“Look, Doc, I know a guy who can get me laser crystals dirt cheap. Since you’re going to be fixing my mech from now on, I’ll let you in on this little venture. Deal?”

Two other new members were talking in another part of the room. One held an open Bible in his lap and was having a lively discussion on theology with another mechwarrior, the test pilot from TharHes. That would be Christian and Tony.

In an open region near the back of the room stood a big brute and a lithe Oriental man. The big guy, a former football player turned mechwarrior, was named Tim Peal. The smaller man was the newcomer, Kai. The two were sparing. Tim was like an ogre, striking rarely but with such power Kai was usually knocked off his feet. Kai, on the other hand, moved like a cat, the result of martial arts training. He landed his blows well and was definately getting the better of the big guy.

The last mechwarrior in the room sat quietly to himself. He was a tall pale Japanese man known to the team was Whitey. He was sitting in one corner reading a magazine. He’d been the Thunderbolt pilot during the battle of Dieron and had jumped ship after Logan offered him a job. His pale complexion was apparently the result of genetic tampering the ISF had inflicted upon him at some point in his history; an attempt to make some sort of super soldier. The effort had failed and the ISF then proceeded to dump its test subjects back out into world to fend for themselves. Whitey had managed to work his way through the DCMS, but the Combine’s prejudice against “failures” had made Logan’s offer too appealing to pass up.

Grayson ran in, a little winded. “Sorry I’m late, Mr. Logan.”

“Just Logan, thank you. It’s good to see you again, Grayson. Please, take a seat.”

“Thanks.”

“Attention everyone. It’s time we actually got down to some business now that we’re all here.” called out Logan. The room calmed down and all attention centered on Logan.

“First things first. I’m Logan and I’m the guy in charge. I have only one real rule: Don’t piss me off. I may be a bit younger than you all, but you don’t get medals like ones in my office for being stupid. Other than that, anything goes. Anyway, welcome aboard. You’re all Dark Rangers now. We’re a raider unit, which means we raid people. Clans mostly, but really its whoever the pays our bills says we raid.

“Now the first order of business around here is to get everyone in some semblance of order. We’re a brand new unit and there are bound to be some kinks to work out. Unfortunately, I wish we had more time to work things out, but there’s a mercenary conference on Arc-Royal in two weeks. We’re expected to be there.”

Rohan stood up. “Translation: We’re in fighting shape by the time that conference commences. No exceptions. This is no vacation. For those of you in a coma recently, there’s a big insurrection brewing in the Commonwealth. Since the Rangers have gained a dose of fame recently, you can bet Prince Vic’s going want us involved. Tomorrow morning, hell begins, so have as much fun as possible tonight, because you aren’t going to see it for a while.” Pleased with the grimaced looks of dismay on the faces of those assembled, Logan turned to Rohan.

“Company dismissed.” declared Rohan, pleased with his new role as the unit’s XO. 

Actium Plateau
Chara III
Skye March, Federated Commonwealth
29 April 3053

Laser fire filled the air as militia rallied to the defense of their make-shift base. Chara was a wealthy agricultural world deep within the Isle of Skye, a frequent target however of Kurita and Marik raids. This day, it found itself under heavy attack by forces loyal to Ryan Steiner and his Conspiracy Against the Star Alliance.

Chara had proclaimed its loyalty to Melissa Steiner when Duke Ryan’s revolt began. That immediately made it a target, sandwiched as it was at a vital point in the space that separated the Isle of Skye with the Draconis March of the old Federated Suns.

Duke Ryan’s forces were, if nothing else, better prepared than the forces arrayed against them. The rebellious Duke had already placed the units loyal to him in key positions, ready to strike and strike hard before the loyalists had time to react.

That was Chara’s fate. Arrayed against the elite “Boys of Summer,” the 17^th Skye Rangers, the Chara militia hadn’t stood a chance. But they had done well for such an inexperienced group. After Kommandant Jakob Tetzel was killed in the initial confrontation, the militia had been led by a retired Loki commando named Gustav Hammerskold.

Gustav mused bitterly. His skills had served him and the militia well in the six weeks since the initial battle, but now trapped out in the open by the Rangers’ mech forces. With only side arms and a few anti-mech support guns, their days were now very numbered.

Hammerskold made his way across the sandbags that covered his men from the heavy autocannon fire from the incoming mechs. They’d not resorted to PPCs or lasers, weapons although frighteningly deadly, were less affective against personnel than the rapid-fire cannon. Still, a few good PPC hits would render their field works useless.

“What do we have, Leftenant?” asked Hammerskold of a scout trooper just returned on his Skimmer hover-bike. Fast and sleek, skimmers were used to ferry scouts about the battlefield to report on conditions.

“Field works are holding on Haladin Hill, but the enemy has a few Firestarters.”

“Damn!” swore the old man. The FS9-S Firestarter BattleMech was a weak opponent against another BattleMech, but versus infantry and light tanks it was a formidable foe.

“Has the enemy tried to encircle us?”

“Ya.” declared the scout. “I reconned at least a company of heavy mechs to our south.”

“We are being corralled, sir.” exclaimed another officer.

Heavy mechs, particularly machine gun and autocannon carries like the Warhammer and Marauder classes, would make short work of a retreating infantry force. The battle was over and Gustav knew it.

“Contact the enemy commander and ask for his terms.”

“Yes, sir.” said the scout. There was a look of relief on his face. Surrender was always a better option than slaughter. 

Federated Commonwealth Military Command Headquarters (temporary)
Tikonov
Sarna March, Federated Commonwealth
30 April 3053

“So that is the way of it?” swore Victor quietly. “Now Chara has fallen.”

“Loyalist forces are giving as good as they get, but Duke Ryan’s got the initiative and he’s not letting go.” reported Field Marshall Ardan Sortek, commander of the Federated Suns portion of the Commonwealth military.

“At least he’s tied up consolidating his gains here in the Commonwealth. Another attack on the Combine could prove a disaster.”

“Which is exactly what Ryan wants.” Said Sortek. “Open hostilities with the Combine. If we fail to contain him, the Combine will be forced to take action themselves, which only plays into Steiner’s hands. Already, he portrays himself as this valiant loyalist, willing to stand up to those who would sell out the Commonwealth to its enemies. The press is eating it up and the people are buying it. If Kurita troops land on our soil now…”

“Yeah, I know and so does he. I would expect his Conspiracy to launch a strike against the Combine at any time now.”

“He has mercenary troops under his employ already, like the Northwind Highlanders.” Said Sortek. “I’m surprised to learn they’re the sort to hold a grudge.”

“The 5^th Sword’s atrocities on Northwind during the Fourth War are apparently hard to forgive, especially for the 2^nd Kereny. Any word on how the Mercenary Review board is going to handle the issue of their contract?”

“The conference begins tomorrow on Arc-Royal. In times of civil war, the mercenary review board has always voted in favor of the rebels and there’s no reason for it to do any different this time.”

“I was afraid you’d say that. If it does, then Ryan’s contract with the Highlanders is upheld and my grievance over their betrayal goes unanswered.”

“Once formal approval of that contract goes through, you can expect other units to jump ship for the Conspiracy. They are well financed.”

“Yeah. And that means more attacks on Combine worlds. You thinking anyone in particular will sign on with Duke Ryan?”

“The Fighting Uruk-Hai and Hansen’s Roughriders are both likely to sign on with Duke Ryan.” said Sortek. “Few mercs are happy with their Commonwealth contracts. We hired a number of them on quite literally as fodder for the Clans and they know it. Many are ready for any excuse to get out of their posts on the Clan border.”

“That’s four more regiments, at least, and maybe more. This isn’t good. Anyway we can salvage something of this?”

“It may be prudent to bring mercs back from the Clan front to fight against Ryan. He’s at least a defeatable opponent; Well equipped perhaps, but he’s not one of  the still seemingly invincible Clans.”

“New contracts need to be drawn up for all units under contract in the Tamar March.” Victor paused. “Of course, that’ll give Duke Kelswa ammunition against me.”

“You’ll need to pull more units to take their place.”

“Have any in mind?”

“The Draconis March command could be reduced significantly. Our Alliance with Kurita makes those units largely unneeded in their current posts.”

“And I’ll piss off Duke Sandoval. Not everyone expects Kurita to keep to their word.”

“Something’s got to give, Victor and you know it. Containing Duke Ryan’s revolt is going to tie up a lot of units. If the Clans decide to get adventuresome, they’ll find the border under-garrisoned with green and under-equipped troops. The Drac March is largely out of the action right now. Those units are fresh, experienced, and getting Star League level upgrades.”

“If the Clans get involved…” mused Victor, repeating Sortek’s words. “Ardan, this really could blow up in our faces. Duke Ryan is getting covert support from Marik and Liao. If Kurita attacks us and we leave a key border world open on the Marik or Liao fronts, they’ll strike I’d bet money on it. We could have a Fifth Succession War on our hands in no time.”

“All the more reason to contain Duke Ryan.”

“That is the key, isn’t it?”

“The Clan’s were a rogue element. The Alliance was our only chance of shoring up our defenses on other fronts. To fight off the Clans, Marik, and Liao all at once, we need the units on the Kurita border of the Federated Suns elsewhere. Now is the time to put that into practice.”

“Then do it. And send an Alpha class message to General Messer. He should be on Arc-Royal by now. He can conduct the negotiations for the new merc contracts. Tell him to compete with Duke Ryan as best he can. He knows the rules.”

“Roger, Victor. I’ll do just that.”

ISF Headquarters

New Samarkand
Galedon Military District, Draconis Combine
30 April 3053

Director Indrahar turned to face the window. Down below, he could see the large swimming pool where his concubines were bathing. All his plans had come to naught. His temporary alliance with the dissident elements of the Federated Commonwealth had failed. His agents had failed to kill General Messer. His mech force had failed to destroy the defenders of the conference and then kill or capture the delegates. The Star Alliance stood intact. Now his former allies, Duke Ryan Steiner and his Conspiracy moved to consolidate their gains, hoping to salvage something that might yet bring war between the Combine and the Commonwealth. Indrahar wished him luck. His part in this was now over.

“It is only a matter of time now before they come for me. Come and demand seppuku for my disloyalty, if they even give me the option.” He thought to himself. “Very well. Let them come. I still have some pleasures left to me.” He smiled and pressed a button on his chair.

“Yes, Director.” said a voice.

“Send Kimura to me. I need to relax.”

“As you wish, Director.”

A few minutes later, a sharp knock came at his door. “Enter, Kimura-chan.” Indrahar turned in his chair as she entered.

He was surprised to see a different woman. “Who are you? Where is Kimura?”

“Kimura is ill, mi’lord. I was sent as a substitute.”

“You are a little older than my tastes, but you shall do. Has Kimura told you how I like to be treated, the things I like to do?”

“Yes, Director.”

“Good, because I do not wish to instruct you. Now disrobe and pleasure me.”

The concubine dropped the robe. Indrahar’s eyes widened in surprise. The woman was nude, save for the gun holster around her waist. It took only a half-second for Indrahar to realize what was happening. He snatched up his katana and like lightning drew it, but he was not fast enough. The woman drew the silenced pistol and fired off three quick shots. All three connected with the Director’s face, blasting the elderly man’s head to pulp. Indrahar’s dead form slumped into his seat, blood pouring down onto the floor.

Yuri Noriko peeled back the latex mask that fooled her former master. She also peeled off the latex that had covered her cybernetic arm. “For your treachery against the Dragon.” She spat at the corpse.

Al Na’ir
Dieron Military District, Draconis Combine
30 April 3053

The most important part of the Al Na’ir system was not the colonized planet itself, but rather a series of large asteroids. Within those asteroids were countless mineral deposits and the numerous mines House Kurita had built to retrieve them. The asteroids were also home of two of their largest military factories, one for mechs, the other for spacecraft, prime targets for anyone wanting to stir up trouble.

Which was precisely why Baron Major Ian O’Malley was here. He and the 2^nd Kearny Highlanders had been ordered by Duke Ryan to raid Al Na’ir and steal the cache of mechs the ISF had stored there. With leadership in the ISF in turmoil, no one had bothered to move them elsewhere, an opportunity the Conspirators were not going to pass up.

Duke Ryan would have preferred to attack and hold the system, but Al Na’ir was notoriously difficult to defend. It would have taken an occupation force of at least a regiment to hold the system against a Kurita counter-attack. That regiment was too valuable to spare for an army as small and outnumbered as his was, even for a system as valuable as this one.

Jump-capable mechs had to be careful with each asteroids’ low gravity, as it was feasibly possible to jump right off the surface. In his jump-capable Victor assault mech, no one was more aware of this particular drawback of Al Na’ir than Ian O’Malley. He and his forces had landed on Prime, the largest and most stationary of the planetoids. It was here that the mech factory was located. Floating in space nearby was another similar asteroid, so close that the lights of the factory complex illuminated the craters on its underside. It gave the whole area an eerie, even claustrophobic, feeling.

Ian was counting on darkness. The close proximity of many of the asteroids component bodies made Al Na’ir a radar void. It was nearly impossible to detect an incoming enemy force once it penetrated within the perimeter of the clockwork worlds. In the bright light of the unshielded sun, his Highlander mechs would be easily spotted. Under the cover of planetoid Delta, his enemies would not know he was there until (he hoped) it was too late for them.

Ian could see the complex ahead in the complete darkness. It would be three hours before Delta completed its orbit and “set” once more on the horizon behind the factory. More than enough time for he and his battalion to eliminate the defenders of the factory. Once Delta passed on, the Highlander dropships would descend from their orbits safely beyond the rotating planetoids to pick up the booty.

At the lead of the enemy defenders was a Kurita Dragon, one of the old DRG-1N models from the bygone era of the Succession Wars. Ian had no place to criticize the mech’s lack of upgraded technology. His own Victor was also from that era, the choice of its pilot. The new Victor carried a gauss rifle in its right arm. Although he would have liked the range of the new weapon, Ian preferred the raw hitting power of the Class 20 autocannon carried by the old model.

To emphasize his fondness, he dropped the crosshairs for his right arm onto the center of the Dragon. The crosshairs flashed red, indicating a dead-on hit if he fired. Ian did so, and the gun roared to life, making noise inside the cockpit from the sheer vibration of its fire, but flashing silently in the airless void of Al Na’ir.

Tracer shells tracked the autocannon fire as it lanced up the chest of the Dragon. Surprised, its pilot did little, if anything, to keep the machine upright from the impacts. Down it went, kicking up dust from the waterless earth of the planet.

The battle was joined. A Highlander Caesar moved alongside Ian’s Victor and finished off the crippled Dragon. Already the alarm was sounded as red lights joined the white lights illuminating the factory complex.

“Careful with your fire around the complex. We do not want to damage the environmental dome.” reminded Ian. Destroying the protective shell that kept the factory in pressurized conditions would be disastrous. Not only would it make their job immensely difficult, but it would kill every man, woman, and child in the complex. Ian might have been a traitor, but he was no murderer.

“No,” he lamented sadly. “That was my son.”

Kurita Panthers, the standard stock light mech of the DCMS, quickly converged on the Highlander force. But a defensive force made up of light mechs was no match for the Highlander heavy mechs. Still, the Panther’s packed considerable punch for their small size, carrying on their right arms a weapon better suited for heavier machines, the PPC.

PPC fire lanced out from those mechs, two of them hitting hard against light armor of Ian’s Victor. To gain jump-capability with its heavy weapons, the Victor was forced to sacrifice its armor capacity. He did not doubt he would win, but he feared the amount of damage he and his men would face to take the day.

“And how many of us will die?” he thought. Ejecting into Al Na’ir’s airless void was problematic at best. Everyone wore an airtight spacesuit in their cockpits, but a tear or hole of any kind would make them worthless. Such “accidents” were sadly commonplace in the rough-and-tumble modern battlefield.

Ian turned his Pontiac autocannon onto a nearby Panther and cut loose. Never built to sustain such considerable damage, the Panther exploded in a brief fireball that quickly consumed what little hydrogen and oxygen it contained within its shell. Ian did not pause to consider the quick but firey death of the Panther pilot before launching a spread of short range missiles at the second Panther that harried him.

The four missiles found their mark and blasted armor off of the light mech, but it was still on the go. Ian paused to notice the approach of other mechs from the giant airlock that marked the entrance of the factory complex. These were more formidable designs: a Warhammer, a Charger, and two more Dragons. Ian did not doubt that these machines carried Star League upgrades.

The Charger came in at 80 tons, equal to his Victor. It was a giant scout mech, heavily armored and fast, but poorly armed. New technology had reduced the size of its engine to accomodate a complete refit of weaponry. An LRM-20 and a few pulse lasers was still not impressive for such a large machine, but certainly more formidable than it had been in the past.

LRMs arched over from the two Dragons and the Charger. Ian finished the second Panther with a vicious punch with his left hand. Deciding to chance it, Ian fired his jump jets. His mech quickly accelerated forward, driven much faster and farther than it normally went in Terran gravity. He cut the jets and felt his mech began a sadly slow descent to the surface of the planet. He hammered away at a Dragon with his autocannon, with much the same results as the strike that began the battle. The recoil of the cannon slowed his mech further and he touched down on the surface in the midst of the enemy mechs. The Charger was incapacitated at close range, its LRM system unable to lock properly at ranges below 200 meters. Ian swung his mech about, bringing a backhanded punch onto the Charger’s round head. The blow knocked the mech forward. He triggered a spread of SRMs into the remaining Dragon. PPC’s laced through his mech’s damaged armor from the lethal Warhammer.

The blow was telling. Ian cursed himself for underestimating the sheer firepower of the 70 ton machine. It was more than a match for his Victor. Ian began to back out of the fray, realizing his berserker charge had not broken his opponents as he had hoped. Now he faced off against both the Dragon and the Warhammer, two determined opponents in battered but not bowed mechs. The Dragon moved around to his left as he turned to face off with the Warhammer.

Missiles roared forward from Lt. Malcolm Henessey’s CPLT-C3 Catapult into the side of the flanking Dragon.. Those were not ordinary SRM or LRM missiles, but the missile artillery from an Arrow IV system. The effect was deadly, blowing the mech apart. In the airless vacuum of Al Na’ir, there was little fire, making the blast flame-out quickly, leaving behind an eerie blackened and shredded ruin of a machine.

The death of the Dragon and the gruesome corpse that remained disheartened the two defenders. The Charger, now assailed by Henessey’s still advancing Catapult and two other mechs, was quickly overwhelmed. The Warhammer was another story.

With two PPCs and a host of small and medium lasers, the Warhammer had been one of the most feared machines on the mech battlefield. Although lightly armored for its size, its sheer firepower and intimidating appearance made up for that flaw. It was more than capable of defeating Ian and then moving on to other prey.

Baron O’Malley knew this, but also knew a few choice hits with his autocannon would make short work of the Warhammer’s frail frame. He squeezed the trigger of his autocannon. The Warhammer pilot tried to dodge the shot, and nearly did so. The last handful of shells tore into the Warhammer’s right arm as it tried to move away.

Although not as damaged as it could have been, the Warhammer now could no longer make use of that arm’s PPC, a definate boon to Ian. Ian started to move forward, waiting for his autocannon to reload for the next shot.

Closing with the enemy mech was chancy at best. Its most potent firepower was in those lasers and up-close and personal was where those weapons excelled. Likewise was true of Ian’s lethal cannon. It was simply a matter of who shot first and how well.

The Warhammer won the contest of speed, twisting and firing the lasers. Four beams of nearly invisible light laced out from the Warhammer’s lower torso and cut four ugly gashes up the length of Ian’s mech. Ian swore when he noticed his SRM had been disabled. Ian cut in with his own lasers as the cannon came on-line again.

The two lasers cut across the path of the Warhammer, making its pilot flinch and slow his movement. That was exactly what Ian wanted, cutting loose with cannon into the now cautious enemy. The cannon tore through the Warhammer’s armor at the lasers’ bay. Ian walked the shells across the machine’s torso, disabling the deadly support weaponry.

Ian noticed the arrival behind him of the rest of his force. The Warhammer was still active, but badly mauled and nearly disarmed.

“Surrender.” demanded Ian. “You cannot win.”

“Never.” swore the Kurita pilot in return. “I will not be dishonored.”

Ian suddenly detected a heat build-up coming from the Warhammer.”

“The stupid fool’s going to self-destruct.” Ian shouted into his comm. He and his mechs pulled back. The Warhammer’s engine superheated, but rather than explode, it simply melted through the shell of the mech. Within seconds, nothing remained of the Warhammer except a rapidly cooling pile of semi-molten metal.

“Damn fanatic.” swore Ian. “Alright, men, let’s do our work.”

Skye
Conspiracy Occupied Territory
1 May 3053

Duke Ryan Steiner strode up to the Duchess as she entered his office. “Welcome back to Skye, my dear.”    

“What is your next course of action, Duke Ryan?”    

“Survival and political upheaval. We occupy nine worlds and have nearly 14 regiments claiming allegence to us. I intend to expand our military conquests. As it stands now, our worlds are mere islands within an Alliance sea.”

“Victor will not risk a public relations disaster by calling on Kurita units to suppress the revolts on our worlds. He will draw from elsewhere in the Commonwealth. But we are separated from the territory claimed by the Northwind Highlanders. What do you intend to do about the worlds intervening?”

“I intend to conquer them. Can the Skye Rangers be expected to fire on other Steiner units?”

“Their loyalty is to you, or so I hope. If they do not fire on them, you can be assured the Steiner units still loyal to Victor will shoot at them. The Davions have not been known for their kindness to Skye revolts. Once he organizes, he’ll throw the kitchen sink at us. We will be outmatched.”    

“The initial surprise of our betrayal is our greatest weapon. We must strike now and strike hard, before Victor and Theodore can revise their supply lines to wage a war within their borders. As we speak, I have regiments inbound to five systems in the Skye March. And I intend to have more units at our disposal soon, presuming your friends in the League can help us.”    

“I am loath to depend over much on Thomas Marik’s generosity. What have you gotten for us. More mercenaries?”    

“Yes, Captain O’Malley is, as we speak, on his way to a conference on Arc-Royal. It seems that our rebellion has fostered some confusion within the merc community as well. As a result, they have called a conference to discuss recent events. Richard, I hope, can sway some of the units to side with us.”

Arc-Royal
Donegal March, Federated Commonwealth
3 Mary 3053

Antoine Anderston reached out to take Richard O’Malley in hand. “Welcome back once more to my neck of the woods.”

“Your Conspiracy keeps bringing me withing spitting distance of my enemies. This doesn’t exactly make me comfortable.”

“General Messer will be here in less than 24 hours.” Emphasized Antoine.

“Tempting, but I do not intend to stay long. Come, there is something I wish to discuss with you.”

“And that is?”

“It seems our illustrious leader has a bit of a short-temper. He is unable having lost face to a whelp of a mercenary on Dieron.”

“Logan may be young, but he is skilled and his Dark Rangers are well-equipped and advised under General Messer.”

“Indeed, but it seems Duke Ryan has sent me here with specific orders to rid us of them.”

“You have a plan then?”

“I do. As you say, the Rangers and Messer are close. Logan is loyal to Messer. If Logan thought he might rid young Joshua of a foe or two, he’d probably jump at the chance.”

“So you’re proposing to convince him of such an opprotunity.”

“I am. It is easily done. Messer, and likely Logan also, know of my time as a prisoner of Dal Pryde, the man who destroyed my brother. Suppose we convince Logan that I have gone to negotiate with Pryde to assist the conspiracy.”

“Far fetched. How will he buy it?”

“Logan is impulsive, among other things. Besides, we can modify the story as we see fit. Make the target even juicier. No one outside the Conspiracy knows where Duke Ryan is or what he’s been up to.”

“Now you’re stretching the limits of credibility if you say Steiner is there also.”

“Am I? Messer doesn’t know what happened between Pryde and myself when I was his prisoner. All he knows is that Pryde is his enemy and so am I. Logan knows even less. The gaps give our little tale just enough credibility.” Richard paused. “Besides, in the end it helps me.”

“How so?”

“Either Logan and the Rangers kill Pryde or are killed by him. Either way, we win.”

“Seems a big gamble to take. How will we convince them of this little myth of ours?”

“That I leave to you. Your face is not known to the Rangers, although your name may be. I’m ordering you to the task of convincing them.”

“Ordering? I wasn’t aware you were my superior, Richard.”

“Ah, but I am now. You see, Duke Ryan has appointed me as head of ConsInt, Conspiracy Intellegence. So I am your superior and I am ordering you to assist me in this.”

Arc-Royal
Donegal March, Federated Commonwealth
5 May 3053

Dozens of dropshuttles and various other craft had assembled at Arc-Royal’s primary spaceport. Logan marched out into the crisp spring air. Rohan and several other Dark Rangers followed behind him. Daniel Allard, commander of the First Kell Hounds, marched up.    

“Well, if it isn’t Logan. It’s been a long time.”

“Not since Rasalhague and that lucky poker game.”

“When you walked onto our compound, I didn’t know whether to shoot you or hire you for what you did.” Daniel paused. “I’m still debating that question. Come on. Most everyone else has arrived.”    

What Daniel had said was true. Practically every mercenary group in the Federated Commonwealth was represented. Logan saw Wolf Dragoons, Kell Hounds, Eridani Lt. Horse, Lindon’s Battalion, you name it, they were there.

Logan also spotted the Federated Commonwealth representative: General Messer. He headed over to meet his other mentor.   

“Hey, General. How’s it going?” said Logan enthusiastically.    

Joshua glared up at Logan, a look that was very unsettling. Logan had gotten to know Joshua well enough to know something was amiss. The fire in Joshua’s eyes was gone. The man that stood here now looked tired and burned out.

“Is something wrong?” queried Logan.

“My wife left me and half my unit joined the Conspiracy.” said Joshua bitterly. “I’m having a great time.”

Logan was at a bit of a loss. “Um, sorry to hear it. I take it you are here to represent the Commonwealth’s interests.”

“Victor seems to think that since I run a school for mercenary raiders on New Belfast that I’m well suited to negotiate for him.” He paused. “I’m not sure that’s prudent.”

“You can do it. You’re the smartest commander the FedCom has, after me of course.”  Logan tried to lighten the mood with a bit of humor.   

“Spare me your self-flattery, Logan.” Snapped Joshua, clearly not in mirthful mood. “Please excuse me.”    

Joshua brushed past Logan and left the room. Logan turned to find the other Rangers when a messenger ran up to him.    

“Mr. Logan, my commander wishes to speak with you. It’s very important and deals with the Duke.”    

“Steiner.” snarled Logan. “Lead on, my friend.”    

Logan was led to one of the guest rooms in the main conference center. The messenger let him inside.    

“Help yourself to a drink, Captain Logan.” said the room’s occupant, walking out from the bathroom.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Geoffrey. I’m an intelligence officer in LIC.” Said Antoine, using a fake name.

“Your lackey said you knew something about Duke Ryan.”    

“I’ve been tracking Ryan Steiner since the conference on Dieron.”    

“You know where he is then? That’s impressive, since he vanished from public and private view after I shot him out of his mech.”    

“Yes, I do. Unfortunately, I am unable to reach him without a little help.” Antoine sat down. “You see, it appears that Steiner has made some allies of a different sort. It seems that Dal Pryde, a Jade Falcon commander, has taken an interest in our little Conspiracy War.”

“I know Pryde. What would Pryde want with this rebellion?”    

“It seems that Pryde has convinced Steiner that he wishes to help him take the throne from Victor. Pryde’s supposedly offered material support.”

“Why would he do that? He hates the Inner Sphere.” Said Logan suspiciously.

“I’m sure he has his reasons. Perhaps he thinks by aiding Steiner, he weakens the Commonwealth, making it ripe for the picking when the truce runs out in ’67.” Antoine said, taking a sip from his drink. “You still don’t believe me? You did encounter Clan mechs of a new design on Dieron, did you not?”

“Yeah, those demon like assault mechs. Balrog, Joshua called them.”

“Where do you suppose they came from?”

Logan nodded. “But how would Pryde and Steiner have gotten connected? It’s not like Pryde would go soliciting around the Commonwealth looking for a disgruntled noble to back?”

“No, it seems they have a connection: one Richard O’Malley.”

“O’Malley? That’s the bastard who messed with my head on Dieron. He’s also the one trying to ruin General Messer’s life.”

“He was prisoner of the Clans for a time. Apparently he made some friends.”

“So where is Steiner now?”

“Meeting with Pryde. On Alyina. We will never have a better opportunity to rid ourselves of him. He’s vulnerable.”

“Guarded by a Clan cluster with an axe to grind.” Retorted Logan.

“Pryde won’t bleed for O’Malley or Steiner. Your Rangers are among the best small raiding merc outfits here on Arc-Royal. Your unit is ideal for this mission.”

“Our men are here, but most of our material remains on Babeski. Only my command officers have their mechs.”

“That should be sufficient, if you can find the way to get to Alyina. Secrecy is their weapon. They don’t have a lot of muscle with them.”

“The Clans do however.”

“You said yourself you’ve faced Pryde before. Don’t tell me he frightens you?”

Logan looked sternly at Antoine. “Geoffrey, I will find a way to get the Rangers to Alyina.”

Arc-Royal
Donegal March, Federated Commonwealth
20 May 3053

“Any of you guys seen General Messer?” asked Rohan. He and Logan entered the suite where most of the new Dark Rangers had been quartered.

“Last I saw him was yesterday afternoon as we arrived.” said Christian. “I haven’t seen him since then.”

“The conference is about to start.” said Grayson. “He should be around soon.”

“We’ll go find the General.” said Christian.

“Meet you back here in ten minutes.”    

“Roger, Lieutenant.” said Grayson with a crisp salute.    

Ten minutes passed and Grayson and Christian returned with word.

“Joshua will be tied up in meetings for several hours. He can meet with you at lunch.”

“Good, this is urgent.” Said Logan.

---

Some hours later, the Rangers headed to Joshua’s quarters to speak with him about what Geoffrey had told Logan. Joshua poured a drink for each of the Dark Ranger’s officers. “So you want to know the story behind O’Malley and Pryde?”

“Is there any plausibility to what this guy has told us.”

“There is.” said Joshua sitting down. “Richard had a brother named Robert. He had problems. He was, for lack of a better term, a monster, an animal. Civilized society had its ways of keeping that in check, but he was captured by the Clans who encouraged his brutality as a weapon to use against both subjugated populations and against me.”

“Why you?”

“More Lisa than me. O’Malley was obsessed with her.”

“Your wife?” asked Doc.

“Aye. She was.” Joshua said the phrase with finality and then took down his drink in one swallow.

“Richard wanted to get to Robert, supposedly to help him.” He continued. “So he joined up with the Swords. I was not entirely convinced of his sincerity, but he had the recommendation of one of my officers. When we attacked New Belfast, Richard betrayed us and handed Lisa over to his brother.”

“How did he do that? He make some kind of  prior connection to Robert?”

“He let himself be captured and ensured that Lisa would be captured too. He shot her mech out from under her.” Joshua paused. “I later went to rescue Lisa and fought a Clan-style Trial of Possession for her. When I did that, I killed Robert and Richard swore revenge.”

“And that’s how Pryde and O’Malley met?” asked Doc.

“Pryde was Robert’s commanding officer, so yes, Richard would have met him at this time. I don’t know however what sort of relationship they might have had, if any. What this Geoffrey says has some plausibility to it, but I cannot confirm anything.”

“Maybe I can.” Said Logan. “Geoffrey did point out the Conspiracy had Clan technology in their attack force on Dieron, including two prototype Battlemechs none of us had ever seen before.”

“The Balrogs. Yes, I remember.”

“Plus, Yuri and I were brainwashed by a previously unknown chemical. Perhaps it was Clan tech.” added Logan.

“Could be.” Admitted Joshua.

“So what do we do?” asked Rohan.

“Pryde is a determined and resourceful foe. If indeed Steiner is with him trying to barter for some token of Clan support, it needs to be stopped. But make no mistake, Pryde is your real foe. You are travelling into the metaphorical lion’s den here, deep into enemy territory.”

“We have to go after him. Geoffrey’s right in that this is a golden opportunity.”

“Only the commanders brought their mechs along however.” said Kai. “We can’t all go.”    

“No, we can’t. Only the command lance. Anything else would be too risky.” said Cowboy. “Too many people might be spotted and we need to be quiet about this.”    

“I can arrange for the return of your men to Babeski.” said Joshua. “And I can get you a jumpship to take you into Clan space. I’ll let you have the Star Scout.”    

“You’re giving us your Clan tech jumpship.” said Doc, his mouth falling open. A little drool ran down his chin.    

“That ship is priceless, you know, even if it is just a Scout class. And since there are only the four of you going, I suppose renting out its dropship wouldn’t be too out of my reach.”    

“That’s the Blackblade, your Shadow class stealth dropship.” said Doc. The drool became more obvious.

Logan gave Doc a sharp nudge. “Mind yourself.”

“It’s best we leave as soon as possible.” said Rohan. “We owe you one, General.”

“Just don’t get yourselves killed. I’ve got enough guilt right now.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” asked Cowboy. Joshua gave him no answer.

 Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
27 May 3053    

“I’m detecting a patrol of Clan mechs closing on this location.” said Doc. “We’ve got company, guys.”    

“Shit, we only touched down an hour ago. How far out are they?” said Logan.    

“About 50 klicks. They’ll be here in a little more than half ‘an hour.” said Doc.    

“We can’t use the Blackblade in combat.” said the dropship’s captain. “A lucky shot by a Clan mech back during the war slagged our weapons systems beyond repair. If they find us here, we’re dead.”    

Cowboy stepped outside to survey the terrain. Alyina was a mountainous world. They had landed the Blackblade inside a valley between two of the larger peaks in a range roughly 500 kilometers north of the capital city.    

“The rocky terrain favors our forces in a standup fight.” said Cowboy. “I think we should fight it out.”

 “How many of them are there, Doc?” asked Logan.

“Ten. That’s two Stars.”    

“Versus our four? Long odds.” Said Logan. “Well, here’s to the challenge.”

“Pryde will know we’re here.” Cautioned Cowboy.

“Not much we can do about that.” Said Logan. “If we take off again, they will see us anyway.”

“Go big or go home?” said Cowboy.

“Exactly. We set up an ambush and make the best of it. Let’s get moving. The sooner we get out there the better.”    

Logan and the others set up their ambush on a pass at the entrance to their mountain valley. The Clan patrol was headed right for it. Rohan had set his Crab near the front, hoping to cut the Clan mechs off from their escape. Cowboy and his Banshee, salvage from the battle on Dieron, took the highest point on the pass, hoping to rain fire down on the enemy from above. Doc and Logan were the front men, the mechs the enemies encountered first.     

The Stars moved into view. Even though they were only going at their cruising speeds, the ten Locust IICs, Koshis, and Dashers were still clocked at nearly 90 kph. They were led by a new machine, one none of the Rangers recognized.

“Unidentified bogey leading the packs. Registers as a medium: 50 tons.” Said Doc.

“It’s fast, whatever it is.” Said Logan. “Fire at will.”

Doc fired first, sending a missile volley at one Dasher. The missiles peppered across the mech’s light armor, one shot penetrating and blowing out its gyro. At its high speed, the mech cartwheeled out of control and smashed into the canyon wall, exploding.    

With that, the other Rangers leaped into action. Rohan came down on a Locust IIC, cleaving it nearly in half with a jump powered chop of his Crab’s claw. He then let slip with a tri-laser blast into the back of an unsuspecting Koshi. The Koshi staggered forward, damaged but not destroyed.

Logan charged forward into the midst of the enemy group. Although much slower, his massive assault mech was reason for worry. Nightmare opened up with its weapons, ripping into a lightly armored Dasher and destroying it in one volley.

“Even with Clan tech, these scouts are no match for us.” laughed Logan. Pulse laser fire lanced across his mech’s armor. It came from the new machine.

“Disregard zellbringen.” Came the order from the Clan commander. “They will destroy us one by one otherwise. Concentrate fire on the Awesome.”

“Be my guest.” Said Logan, overhearing the command on an open channel.

With that order, the ambushed Clanners organized their defense and began to fight back coherently. A few well placed laser blasts soon dislodged the Banshee from its perch, bringing it down into the fray were it found itself harried by a number of smaller swifter designs. Cowboy was not the only one with problems. Both Rohan and Doc, who fought in lighter designs, were showing signs of wear and tear from repeated hits.

Still most kept to their orders and concentrated their fire on Logan. Despite his mech’s upgrades and heavy armor, he found himself unable to effectively target the fast moving enemy. The new machine in particular was proving quite a threat.

“Damn you, stand and fight.” Snarled a frustrated Logan. The new machine, which had a rabbit-like head, lanced another pulse laser blast into Nightmare’s leg. That was the end of its armor there.

Doc’s Kintaro took repeated hits on its left arm. A final laser hit snapped the arm just below the elbow. Suddenly unbalanced, Doc was unable to shift the mech’s weight fast enough and down he went. His opponent and two other mechs moved in like vultures for the kill.

Seeing his old friend helpless caused Cowboy to rally. He flayed about with his mech’s arms, hoping that melee attacks would drive off his opponents. They did, especially after he caved in the chest of one Dasher with one kick and knocked a Koshi against the canyon wall with a swift backhand. Free of his attackers, Cowboy dropped the sights of his twin PPCs onto the back of the Locust IIC that had dropped the Kintaro and fired. The twin bolts connected, vaporizing the back armor of the Clan mech and travelling through to explode out the front. The two other mechs on Doc turned, realizing that there was a very live very angry Banshee on their ass.    

Cowboy didn’t let up for a second. He fired his gauss cannon and Streak six pack SRM at the one, another Locust, and hit the other, a Dasher, with his support weaponry. The Banshee’s heat levels began to skyrocket, but the Locust was barely able to move after the first barrage and the Dasher was on the retreat, not willing to stick around to see what Cowboy was going to do to it.    

“Doc, are you alright?”

“I’ve been better. It’s going to be hard to fix this battle damage, especially with the materials and tools I have here.”

“Where’s Logan?” said Rohan, moving up to the pair in his Crab.

“They’ve pulled him away.”

Indeed they had. Between his initial charge and his later attempts to catch the new jackrabbit-like mech, Logan had put quite some distance between himself and the others. Rohan began to advance to catch up to him, but found his path blocked by the two mechs that had battered Doc.

“Out of my way.”

“They’re buying time for the Clans to take down Nightmare.” Observed Cowboy, also advancing.

This time, the two light mechs did not give ground. Despite being outgunned and outweighed, they brought their machines up to full speed and made to harry the two Rangers as they tried to get to Logan.

Meanwhile, laser fire lanced across Nightmare. Logan was isolated and in bad shape. Another leg hit and he would go down.

As if on cue, the lead mech slashed another pulse laser blast across the leg. Logan watched as the skeleton of his mech melted away. Nightmare lurched and began to tip forward. No daring to risk having his mech’s head crushed against the canyon wall. Logan yanked his ejection level and rocketed into the sky.

He came away from the ejection seat and parachuted to the ground. Unfortunately, the Clan Commander was waiting for him. With a quick snatch, Logan found himself with the mech’s one hand.

“And what have we here?” said the Clan commander. “Welcome to Alyina, Logan of the Dark Rangers. All mechs retreat. Star Colonel Pryde will be most interested in this little surprise.”

2^nd Falcon Jaegers Headquarters

Alyina
Jade Falcon Occupation Zone
27 May 3053    

“Funny, I expected more of a man, not some whelp with delusions of grandeur.”  said Dal Pryde, leaning down to glare at the bound and gagged Logan. “Hard to imagine this is the one who bested me on New Belfast back in December.”

Star Captain David stood behind Logan gloating over his captive. “He and the other Dark Rangers put down in Sector 17. They gave quite a fight. Most of our scout binary is down for the count.”

“Yes, that will prove troublesome. You should have withdrawn than fight.”

“I recognized our opponents immediately, Star Colonel. I knew, given your reports, that they would not let us get away so easily. Combat was the only option.”

“You cost us a full star of scout mechs and put the Avenger in danger.”

“Our prototype mech is fine. And, I might add, performed admirably.”

Pryde turned back to Logan. “Take him away. We will figure out what to do with him later.”

As the guards dragged Logan to his feet, his gag slipped. Logan turned to Pryde. “You’re mine, Pryde. I want a piece of you.”    

“I would accept that as a challenge to a Circle of Equals, Logan, if you were but my equal.”  He nodded to the elementals.

Logan only grew angrier, but his struggling was useless as the two elementals dragged him away.

“What shall we do with him?”

“You brought him to me alive. I presume you have an idea.”

“A demonstration of our strength to the populace. Something which we need given the growing strength of the insurrection here.”

“And no Robert to rape and pillage as he did on New Belfast?”

“I fear he was a one-of-a-kind tool, Star Colonel.”

“What do you have in mind this time?” said Pryde, intrigued.

“A criminal trial, using their legal system, for his attempted murder of the rightful ruler of Alyina. We make a mockery of their laws and their society, because of course the verdict is already decided. We laugh at their powerlessness, their inability to stop us from killing one who came to save them from you.”

“Interesting. I never quite understood your need for theatrics, Star Captain. This is a bit more subtle than your usual machinations.”

“But it should still prove effective.”

“So be it. We put this Logan on trial for his life.”

Next Chapter