Whining Pines, Drop Zone Phi,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

9^th March 3068

 

Major Ian Dorlacen was sure things could be better for his unit. Facing a full Supernova Trinary of clan trueborns was not going to be beneficial to the well-being of any Inner Sphere merc unit under any conditions.

As he guided his Awesome past the dense foliage of the forest they had dubbed the Whining Pines for the sounds that are emitted from the trees at night, he checked on the condition of the very special surprises he had prepared for the Falcon commander.

Able to field only eleven mechs, due to Dean Giggs’ injury status, he knew he was definitely outgunned. The replacement of a Mad Cat for a Marauder and the two new light clan mechs for the recon lance helped, but was still inadequate in terms of matching the sheer firepower of a full trinary of clan mechs.

He had just the trick up his sleeve, though.

He had sent his vehicles onto a long flanking movement which he hoped would draw off a clan nova at the very least. Moving his mech forward, he led the rest of his company deeper into the forest, cautiously seeking sensor readings.

 

Star Captain Daniela Mattlov was not sure of her adversary’s actions, but the movement detected by her scouts were quite obviously a ploy to draw off part of her forces.

While she hated to play into her opponent’s hands, in this case she could not ignore them either. The reports from the first battle gave the vehicle unit of the Lancers a high danger rating. So she sent out a fast mech and elemental Nova to deal with the upstart vehicles.

She was still quite confident of victory in any case. It was her ten omnimechs and fifty elementals against at most twelve mechs and a company of paltry infantry. A complete mismatch, in her mind.

Even better, the battle would probably be in the forest, restricted terrain where her elementals could excel.

Despite this, she still felt uneasy. In fact, it felt too easy. She resolved to stay alert for any hidden traps.

 

Drop Zone Alpha,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Frank Meronac was ecstatic in his new mech. The Night Gyr, a cutting edge omnimech that had just rolled off the assembly lines only a few years before, epitomized the concept of the clan heavy ominmech. Armed to the teeth with deadly weaponry, it was capable of taking on entire Inner Sphere medium lances on its own.

Moving around the trees in a wedge formation with the rest of his company, he prepared for the imminent arrival of the Jade Falcon binary that was sent down to wipe them off Einstein once and for all.

Checking in with the rest of his company, he was relieved to hear that Tim and Gerhard were settling in well with their new lancemates and their new mechs. But obviously nobody would mind having to pilot more than seventy five tons of cutting edge combat technology.

His company. Even now, the words sounded funny to him. Here he was, a doctor trained in the finest institution in the Inner Sphere, now leading a group of hardened mercenaries into combat against the finest warriors humanity possessed, on a world in the deep reaches of space, with the knowledge of entire civilizations at stake.

He dearly wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but the knowledge of the defeats and deaths of the previous days stopped him. One key machine had fallen into the Falcons’ hands, and more than two battalions of mercs had been wiped out.

Things were not looking good.

 

Pirate Jump Point,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

At a pirate point that neither the mercs nor the Falcons knew about, a jumpship flashed into existence in a storm of incandescent colours.

On its hull, an insignia of a scorpion on a yellow field could be seen.

An aerodyne dropship detached away from the jumpship. Its thrusters blazing, it set a course for the planet where a vast struggle for dominance of its treasures was being waged.

Where the fate of humanity could be decided for all time.

Clan Goliath Scorpion had entered the fray.

It did not go unnoticed.

 

Warship Blue Aerie, In Orbit,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

“Star Commodore!” The Star Captain responsible for communications and sensors called out for her superior officer, who quickly strode to her station. “We have a jump in-system at a pirate point at coordinates Eta six niner. From the electromagnetic readings, it is probably a modified Hunter class jumpship, used by Clan Goliath Scorpion. The contact has released a dropship, probably Broadsword class. It is heading for the planet, sir.” She paused, waiting for Valten Folkner’s reaction.

“Put us on red alert. Inform Galaxy Commander Danforth and get her to the bridge ASAP. Helm, steer us on an intercept course with the dropship.” He bellowed.

A chorus of ayes was the response. Moments later, red sirens and klaxons were dishing out their usual cacophony of light and sound.

A dull thrum could be sensed from the bowels of the massive Warship, as it started to accelerate towards its target.

“Sir!” A flustered officer shouted for attention just as Lizabet Danforth entered the bridge, looking slightly miffed at the sudden interruption of her observation of the development of the day’s battles.

The officer continued, “Navigation says that the dropship is moving too quickly for us to intercept. Estimated time of entry into the planetary atmosphere is in two minutes.”

Valten Folkner was not the least deterred. “What about our fighters? How long will it take for the CAP to engage?”

“Neg, sir. The fighters are already on an intercept course, but they will not make it in time. I am sorry, Star Commodore, but we were caught flat footed.”

“The jumpship?” In truth, he already knew the answer.

“Jumped out almost immediately after losing the dropship. They must have calculated the pirate points precisely. They must also already had navigational data on the system.”

“Open a channel to the dropship!”

He waited for the comms officer to indicate an open channel before speaking.

“This is Star Commodore Valten Folkner of Clan Jade Falcon, you are trespassing on Falcon territory. Identify yourself!”

Static accompanied the reply. “And this is Star Captain … of Clan Goliath Scorpion. We are not … that the Falcons have claimed this … for themselves, so you can hardly blame us if you did not bother to … out notices. We are just here to …, nothing more.”

“Do you wish for a Trial of Possession for this world, quiaff?” Lizabet suddenly cut in.

From the reply, the static interference was getting worse. “Neg. … am a Seeker of …. I … desire to claim … world for my clan. I … told …, a warrior … relics of the lost Star …. And … tell me, … are you … doing here …?”

Just as they were about to respond, the connection was lost.

“They have entered the atmosphere. The ionisation of the hulls is preventing us from communicating. We’ll have to wait for at least five minutes before we are able to regain the connection.” The warrior grimaced as Valten glared at him for use of a contraction.

Turning to Lizabet, he saw on her the same bemused look that he was sure was also on his own face.

 

Whining Pines, Drop Zone Phi,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Ian cursed as the PPC blast he had just triggered fizzled just wide of his target, a Night Gyr.

All along the line, his company was slowly giving up ground. A high premium was placed on evasive action rather than accurate shot placement, as the Falcons unleashed a storm of autocannon fire and missiles that threatened to shatter his battle line.

The elementals made matters even worse, as they forced his mechs to keep their distance. Already he had almost lost his Rifleman to the little toads, but it was saved in the nick of time when Ian managed to blast off the toads with his PPCs.

It was only a matter of time before one of his people went down, and that was definitely not part of his plans. At the same time, he could not disengage too quickly, lest the enemy smell a trap.

The Night Gyr fired a volley of LRMs at him, half of which smashed into the thick armour on the Awesome’s torso. Easily getting his mech under control under the punishing salvo, Ian replied with three PPC shots, of which two hit. One on the left arm, and one on the right leg. Hardly cause for celebration, but the Night Gyr manoeuvred away, clearly wary of the Awesome.

We have to split their force again, he thought. Getting his shorthanded command and recon lances to one side, and his fire lance to the other, all the while under intense fire from the Falcons, he waited for the Falcon commander’s response.

And was elated when she further split her forces.

 

Daniela had no idea what the surat Spheroid was thinking. He had split his forces once more, baiting her to do the same.

While she could refuse to do the same, and go after each portion of the mercs with her full two Novas, her honour dictated otherwise.

Cursing her own clan bred sensibilities, she sent her striker Nova after the four mech element, while she continued to attack the heavy element with the Mad Cat. Even outnumbered seven to five in mech strength alone, the star of elementals in her Nova more than made up for the lack.

 

Drop Zone Alpha,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Frank lost all concern for tactics and strategy the moment the battle started. He simply led the Dragoon/Raider force straight into the Falcon binary. After all, he had never trained for tactics and the like, and he didn’t trust himself to execute complex plans which more often than not result in spectacular failures. So, a simple charge into up close and personal range. He had been very grateful when the rest of the mercs followed him in.

Which was exactly the opposite of what the Falcons had expected. They had anticipated another long range slugging match, with perhaps a few fades and retreats along the way to pull them into more filthy ambushes.

Never in their wildest dreams could they have expected the mercenaries to simply charge into their midst, abandoning all pretence of a coherent battle plan in favour of something more akin to a clan melee.

Frank grinned as his ultra heavy autocannon cut down an enemy Ice Ferret. Its centre supports completely blasted through, the light mech collapsed to the ground as an explosive burst erupted from its head, as the pilot ejected from the dead mech. All around him, the mercs were giving as good as they got, the clanners’ superior range having been negated by the vicious close in fighting.

Out of a corner of his eye, he saw Deserk’s Black Hawk go up on blazing jumpjets, unleashing its full arsenal of PPCs onto a hapless Thor, which was being pummelled by Liase’ Battlemaster’s gigantic fists.

Kily’s Commando had collided with a huge Dire Wolf, losing its arm but felling the assault mech in the process. Lee finished off the clanner by igniting his jumpjets and landing directly on top of the threshing Falcon as it struggled to regain its feet in a risky DFA attack, emerging with barely functional legs on his Spider.

Bryan in his Fenris faced down a Black Lanner, both mechs exchanging violent volleys of fire before disengaging due to excessive battle damage. The Black Lanner limped away from the battle, ignored by the rest of the mercs as they tried to bring down their own opponents. Bryan likewise signalled to Frank his retreat from the field.

A menacing Turkina fired its banks of energy weapons at Tim’s Gunslinger. Riding out the damage, Tim replied with his Gauss rifles, the solid slugs smashing into the Falcon mech’s right leg, stripping away much of its armour on that limb. His lasers went all over the place, with only one hitting the Turkina on the left side.

Qing’s Marauder battled with its clan relative, a Mad Cat. Obviously outmatched, Qing nevertheless soaked up the damage as he closed, and went into a kicking and punching contest with the omni. It was obvious he was on the losing end, though.

Geenan and Kety ganged up on a Loki, easily tearing it apart in less than half a minute with little damage to their mechs.

Almost too easy, Frank realized with a start.

 

Whining Pines, Drop Zone Phi,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Ian reversed his mech as he fired off one more alpha strike at the massive Masakari that had almost removed all the torso armour on his Awesome since the split in his forces. Despite this, he had given a good accounting of himself, blowing away one of its arms with a concentrated burst of PPC fire earlier on. The heat buildup in his mech was soon reaching unbearable levels after several minutes of continuous PPC firing, though, and he yearned for a chance to cool down.

Meanwhile, his seven mech element continued to withdraw deeper into the forest, towards an area where the heavy, thick set trees are about fifteen to twenty metres tall. His mechs had suffered various degrees of damage, and he recognised that attrition would claim a mech soon if the battle continued.

The elementals continued to pester his mechs, drawing valuable fire away from the clan omnis as they tried to close in.

The Masakari whipped out with its own dual PPCs, easily matching the power of Ian’s four PPCs. The shots went into his legs, thankfully denuding only more armour.

Almost there now, he gritted his teeth. As a Man O’War took a step towards one of his mechs, Ian finally sprung his trap.

Giving the codeword over the open channel, he yelled, “Avalanche!”

Suddenly, the treetops bristled with men and anti-mech launchers. At an elevated height, the infantry troopers of the Arch Lancers had a undisputed advantage over the elementals of the Falcons. They had hid for several long hours, and were eager to loosen their muscles with some choice targets.

 

Daniela slammed her fists on her command panel in frustration. After twenty minutes of hard battle, the crafty mercs had managed to turn the tables yet again, just when she was sure victory was within her grasp.

The Warhawk shuddered as several hand launched SRMs slammed into its shoulder. The mech had been badly hurt in its duel with the Awesome that Daniela was sure held the enemy mech commander. Even in a lighter mech equipped with only the most basic of mech technology, the enemy warrior had managed to hold his own and even severed the left arm of the Warhawk, no mean feat for a Spheroid.

The surat infantry had fired off dozens of support weaponry in their initial attack, downing many elementals and unbalancing her mechs. She was astounded at the sheer variety of support weapons now unleashed on her troops.

Support gauss cannons, pulse cannons, man pack PPCs, one shot LAWs, and the like were being propelled from the treetops with a vengeance, as the Falcons quickly backtracked to regroup their forces and get away from the infantry infested trees.

The mercenary mechs were not in any mood to indulge them, however, counterattacking the Falcons with a strong push led by the Timber Wolf.

The clanners did not just let the infantry take pot-shots at them without retaliation. Firing their own weapons, including a flamer, they smashed infantry positions on at least four trees.

Injured and dead soldiers pummelled to the ground, some with their bodies and uniforms burning. Mere leaves and wood were no protection against the incredible might of mech class weaponry.

The enraged mercs seemed to throw caution to the wind as they charged forward, heedless of the damage they had taken, lasers and missiles springing out to engulf the Falcons in a series of hits.

Firing her PPCs at the Timber Wolf, Daniela cursed as both shots missed, the particle bolts going deeper into the forest. Checking her systems, she was stunned to discover that her targeting computer had been damaged, the likely cause of her miss a while ago.

A lull settled in as both sides bunkered down, ready to fend off any further attacks.

She knew that in terms of material and personnel losses, the battle was essentially a stalemate. The Falcons had suffered too much damage to assume an offensive posture, while the mercenaries were likewise too damaged to press home their attack.

She opened a channel to the Awesome.

 

Drop Zone Alpha,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Frank turned his Night Gyr, placing his targeting sights over the Mad Cat that had just sent Qing’s Marauder sprawling to the ground with a broken leg.

Thumbing his trigger, Frank sent a storm of depleted uranium shells at the clan heavy, tearing huge chunks of armour off the legs, neatly depositing it on the ground as it succumbed to the same fate as the Marauder it had just deposed of. Frank thought it a delicious irony.

Save for Qing and Bryan, who had pulled back for refitting, the rest of the mercs were still in the thick of the action, while the clanners were slowly succumbing to the mercs.

The Thor had been eliminated after Liase managed to land a solid blow against the cockpit, followed by Deserk’s coup de grace as he fired a PPC at the prone, immobile mech’s cockpit.

Stunned by the loss of one whole star of mechs in such a short time, the Falcons fought clear of the mercs using their superior speed, but suffering more damage in the process.

Frank ordered his troops to let the clanners go, and was about to open a transmission to the Falcon commander when he was pre-empted.

“This is Star Captain Harga of Clan Jade Falcon. You have fought well for lowly mercenaries. May I know who your commander is?”

Lowering his jaw to activate the transmission mike in his neurohelmet, Frank said, “I’m Frank Meronac, commander pro-tem of the combined unit in the absence of Captain Jadine Sheik. Surely you did not want to talk to me just to send your congratulations?”

“Aff. I wish to talk to you to offer you a choice. Surrender now, or face the consequences.”

Frank was aghast. He could not believe his ears. “We outnumber you two to one, and you’re asking us to surrender? Are you joking?”

“Neg.” The answer came back, with a tinge of anger now. “As you should know, clan commanders are allowed to bring in their last bid with some loss of honour. My last bid was my entire trinary, which I cut down to just a binary, the one you now face. I have underestimated your abilities, and I apologise for any loss in honour on your part. Though I value my honour, I value success even more.”

“To that end, I am forced to bring in my last bid, containing the forces of my Alpha Strike Star. You cannot possibly stand against another star of heavy mechs, fresh and undamaged. Surrender, and you will be treated well as bondsmen. You have my word.”

Frank was stunned. Another star of mechs! As proud as he was of what he had just achieved, he knew their chances of victory were extremely slim.

He had no desire to be a bondsman of Clan Jade Falcon either, something that he was sure the rest of the company agreed on.

Frank began to run through his options on his onboard computer.

 

Warship Blue Aerie, In Orbit,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

“Where is that stravag dropship?” Star Commodore Valten Folkner was getting irate, his temper rising to its typical boiling condition. Understandably, since the sensors on the warship Blue Aerie had lost track of the dropship just after it entered atmosphere.

Not at all what one would expect of clan technology. Therefore, the blame would most likely fall on the long suffering crew of the warship. Even if they were working as fast as they possibly could to get the location of the Goliath Scorpion ship.

“They must have landed already! Switch to terrain scanning sensors!” Valten was exasperated at his crew’s lack of initiative. It was plain to him that if the dropship could not be detected in the skies of the planet below, then it must be on the ground. He reminded himself to intensify drills for the crew once they returned to clan space.

“Sir, we have it!” A crewmember shouted. “The dropship landed twenty miles north of challenge site Alpha!”

Lizabet narrowed her eyes as she heard this, feeling an ominous sense of disaster come upon her.

“Inform Star Captain Harga of this new development,” she told her tactical officer, “I want his Alpha Strike star to investigate the dropship landing. If possible, challenge the Scorpions in a Trial of Grievance; I do not want them getting anywhere near the mercs.”

“Too late, Galaxy Commander. It seems that someone from the dropship has already engaged Alpha Strike star!”

 

Whining Pines, Drop Zone Phi,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Ian could barely believe his ears. The Falcon commander was offering him hegira!

It was his best option right now. There was no way he was going to press the attack, and apparently the Falcon commander was in the same situation.

“What say you, Major Ian? Are you willing to accept this stalemate for what it is? Let us return to our bases, repair our damage, and reclaim our dead. Let us settle this battle another day.”

The voice was clearly feminine, but carried a ring of authority that impressed Ian. He knew that he was unlikely to get a better offer, and he did not want a bloodbath if he could help it.

“Aff. Hegira it is. On one condition.” He paused for her reply.

“Name it.”

“That one day we will get to resolve who is the better warrior, in mechs of equal ability.”

He heard her give out a hearty laugh over the speakers as the Falcon mechs pulled back from the forest. “Done!”

Leading the tattered mechs of his company from the battlefield, Ian silently promised himself that he would prevail if that day ever came.

 

Drop Zone Alpha,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

 

Plain out of ideas, Frank had resigned himself to a final all or nothing charge, straight into the guns of the Falcon mechs. Bringing the Night Gyr up to its full running speed, he led the remainder of the combined Raider/Dragoon force in a headlong dash into the clan star.

In his mind, their only chance would be to put the star that had just disengaged out of action before the fresh troops arrive. If they could maintain two to one odds, there was just the chance that they might be able to wrest victory away from the Falcons.

Harga was not stupid, however. As soon as he knew the mercs were not going to surrender, he began moving his star in the direction of his reinforcements.

Disregarding any attempt to delay the mercs, the Falcons simply ran off at top speed, with the mercs close behind, turning the battle into a footrace. The greater overall speed of the Falcons gave them a crucial advantage, though.

Frank wanted to send his light mechs forward to slow down the Falcons, but at the same time he knew that sending them would be akin to sentencing them to death. The firepower of clan mechs, no matter how damaged, was still sufficient to pound most light mechs into the ground.

So he kept his company together, and hoped that they would be able to deal with a full binary of clan mechs when the battle was joined once more. Leaving the forest behind them as they emerged onto the plains, the Falcons increased their lead over the mercs.

Frank swore bitterly. There was no way he was going to get the damaged star now. It would be a straight slugging match between his company and ten clan omnimechs.

Fording a small river, he could see sensor contacts in two kilometres. Charging his lasers and checking the condition of his autocannon for the last time, he burst into range of enemies, ready for combat, but not the sight which greeted him.

An Executioner laid on the ground with its limbs all separated from the mech’s body, while a Vulture slumped in ruins not far from it. There was no sign of the Falcon mechs, but there were mechs in the area.

Directly facing them were two omnimechs, a cat shaped mech his identification program called a Nova Cat and a more conventional Ryoken. Their colours were black and silver, definitely not those of the Falcons, who tend towards green and yellow.

“Stay loose, guys! Let’s not start anything we might regret later.” He cautioned the mercs as he inched the Night Gyr forward.

Likewise, the Nova Cat started forward as well, halting five hundred metres from Frank.

Frank spoke first. “This is Frank Meronac, of Vansen’s Raiders. May I inquire as to your intentions?”

A deep growl not unlike Deserk’s came over the comms. The aggression was tempered by a slight tinge of humour, as though the warrior was enjoying a private joke at Frank’s expense. “This is Star Captain Descartin Winters of Clan Goliath Scorpion. I am here to…”

He was suddenly cut off as Deserk interrupted.

“Descartin? You stravag, filthy surat! What in the name of the Kerensky’s are you doing with the Goliath Scorpions? And with the Winters bloodname, no less? Remember me?” Frank was more than a bit surprised at the joy in Deserk’s voice.

“Hold on… Deserk? Is that you? By the Founder! What are you doing here? It has been more than ten years! You were lost at Luthien!”

Frank was utterly confused now. “Wait a minute. You mean you guys know each other?”

Deserk replied with a laugh, “Know each other? This surat grew up with me in the same sibko!”

“Aff, but I was always the smarter one.” Descartin said smugly.

“Not more than a minute, and you are already boasting.” Deserk shot back, his voice full of amusement.

The incredulous mercs listened to the two bicker for more than a minute before Frank finally cut in. “Can we save the reunion chatter for another day? Star Captain Winters, you are welcome to our camp, provided you come in peace and goodwill. Can you give me your word that you will not attack us? There is much to discuss.”

“On my honour and my bloodname, I will not attack any of you. I have come with a specific purpose in mind, and I suspect you can help me greatly.”

“Not that his honour is worth much anyway.” Deserk mumbled in a tone that was meant to reach the Star Captain.

“I heard that!” Descartin said.