Drop Zone Theta,

Einstein, Deep Periphery

12^th March 3068

 

The Raiders/Dragoons had landed near the Ragged One’s abandoned dropship. For two days, they had been scouring the dropship and the surrounding area for clues to the missing mercs’ location, as well as repairing their mechs, savaged in the previous battle.

For Deserk, it was a welcome break from the hectic preparation and combat of the past week. No challenges had been issued yet from the Falcons, although he was aware that one could arrive at any minute, and with the battle to take place immediately after the challenge.

Running a test on one of his Black Hawk’s subsystems in the makeshift camp set up by the Ragged Ones, he heard the sound of a person approaching.

“Good morning. I see you are hard at work being a tech.” Descartin Winters had a grin on his face as he walked up to one of the mech’s legs.

“I’m doing this to take the load off the overworked tech crews.” Deserk continued to push buttons on the calibration screen in front of him. “What about you? Aren’t you supposed to be assisting the search?”

“Tsk, tsk. So many contractions. Your speech has deteriorated in the Inner Sphere, old friend.” Descartin grinned.

“You didn’t answer my question.” Deserk pointed out.

“Aff. There are more than enough people doing the searching today. I decided to stay behind to work on my personal project, as well as keeping an eye on Lorik.”

Since they had met up, the scientist had his head constantly buried in the key machines. Enquiries of progress had always met the following words, “Can you not see I am working? Now go away before I come after you with this big wrench!”

That was generally sufficient to keep most people away.

“So how’s your life? We have not had a good talk like we did in the past.” Deserk glanced once at the screen results, and satisfied that his mech was working fine, moved to disconnect the diagnostic wires. “Tell me about your journey through the clans.”

“That is a very long tale. You sure you want to hear it?”

“Aff.”

For the next twenty minutes, Descartin regaled his sibkin with his exploits with the various clans he had served with, as well as the insights he had gained. Deserk finished up his own work, and the two trudged off to a nearby shed where Tina, Des’ Harbinger, was practicing with her harp.

The shed had become a semi-official gathering place, where techs off duty and warriors on rest would gather for some light entertainment by Tina. The presence of what little alcohol and caffeine the mercenaries had brought with them was one further attraction to the place.

Right now, in addition to Tina, Kety and some of the surviving tankers were present. Most of the techs were working on the mechs, and only two of them were in the shed, sipping at their hot coffee. The quiet, soothing sounds of the harp resounded through the place.

Reaching over for a jug of coffee, Deserk poured himself and Des two full mugs of the brew. The two sat down on the stools around a small table, while Des finished his tale.

 

“You actually ingested necrosia?” Deserk exclaimed in shock. He thought Descartin had better sense than to buy into the Goliath Scorpion theory of drug induced visions.

“Aff. For the vision rite, you see. I wonder if anyone had used necrosia for a Nova Cat vision rite before. It was very effective, effective enough to get me here.”

Deserk shook his head in wonder. “You do realize that necrosia can cause addiction, and even death, quiaff? I always thought you had plenty of common sense!”

Descartin smiled reassuringly, “Do not worry. I am not addicted, and I am certainly not dead! It was simply a one-off attempt to merge both rite traditions together. Enough about my story. Tell me about yours. What happened on Luthien? The last I remembered was our Trinary engaging the Kell Hounds. I thought we had them pinned down, and that red and black Archer in front was going to die quickly…”

“But we just couldn’t get a targeting lock.” Deserk whispered. It was one memory that he knew would haunt him to his dying days. “I went in at the Archer, but I just couldn’t hit him. It was nothing I had ever seen before.

“You were one of the first mechs to get within three hundred meters of him. That was no mean feat, considering that he was taking one of us down every twenty seconds.”

“Oh yes, I got close. I was firing with my Vulture’s pulse lasers for all they were worth, but everything just missed. I had already taken a pounding from the other Kell Hound mechs, and that Archer just picked my mech apart with its medium lasers. I ejected, and was promptly picked up by Kell Hound infantry.”

Deserk paused, then added, “I never found out who that Archer pilot was.”

“He, or she, must be one hell of a mechwarrior.” Descartin said. “I would like the chance to meet that warrior someday. And maybe gut him as payback.” He continued, “The Wolf Dragoons took you in as a bondsman, quiaff?”

“Aff. It didn’t take me long before I was accepted as a warrior. Since then, I have fought in many battles in the Inner Sphere. Now, I have a better idea of why the Inner Sphere fought so hard against us in the beginning.”

“And that is?”

“Their lives are so rich! They have holovids, selection of foods they want, freedom of choice. As long as one has money, almost anything is possible.”

“And you have money now? Getting corrupted, eh?” Des asked mischievously.

Deserk snorted. “Not getting corrupted. Just adapting to my new life. You would do the same, if you were in my shoes. The Dragoons give good pay, from what I’ve observed from other mercenary units. Enough for me to live quite comfortably, and have some savings for the future.”

“The future?” Des was stunned. “Who cares about the future? The job of a warrior is to fight, gain glory, and hopefully die before he becomes an invalid! Whatever happened to the fierce warrior I grew up with?”

“He has changed. Changed for the better. He doesn’t live for a bloodname, nor for glory and honor.” Deserk smiled. “The clans offered us nothing except a cause to die for, Des. In the Inner Sphere, I have found the opposite, a cause to live for.”

“I have a family now. I got myself a wife, a fellow warrior, and I have a child on the way.”

Descartin nearly choked on his coffee. “You actually have a child? A freeborn? You’re now a parent? I cannot believe it!”

“Better believe it. Tell you what. When this is all over, come with me back to Outreach. I’ll introduce my family to you. After all, you are my brother, according to Inner Sphere customs.”

Descartin made a negative gesture with his left hand. “You forget, I have a mission and an obligation to my clan. Even though the truce is over, should there not be some rule against clanners traveling past the truce line?”

Deserk waved off the objection. “No one will find out if we don’t make a big deal out of it. So how about it? You’ll approve of my choice of lifestyle, I’m sure.”

“I think I would like to have a look at the rest of the Inner Sphere.” Des gave a slow smile. “Maybe I could consider it as ‘advanced scouting’!”

“Well. If you’re going to the Inner Sphere, take me with you.” The two warriors looked up to see the petite Harbinger Tina standing over the table. “I heard tales of the great music to be found in the Inner Sphere! There must be something I can learn there!” There were stars in her eyes as she said this. “The first Harbinger to go to the Inner Sphere! I would become famous when I return to Roche!”

“Forget it, Tina.” Descartin warned her. “This is no picnic, and I doubt your caste leaders would be happy if you went off traipsing around the galaxy like that.”

“How about your project, your, ahem, Great Work?” She shifted the subject quickly.

“Working on it.” Descartin mumbled, obviously embarassed.

Deserk’s curiosity was piqued. “What project?” Deserk asked.

Waving his hands, Descartin said, “Oh, nothing. It is just an idea from my time with the Bears. I recovered fragments of a music score during one of my quests, and I am trying to put it back together. This would be my Great Work, when it is finished.”

“It’s a full orchestral piece. Star Captain Descartin Winters is in way over his head.” Tina retorted.

Deserk blinked in surprise. “I didn’t know you knew music.”

“Well, I do now. Having Tina around was a good idea, though, as she was the one who taught me the basics. I am just making up the rest as I go along.”

“What’s the name of the song?” Deserk finished the last of his coffee.

“Blue Sea Laughter.” Descartin winced, waiting for the inevitable laughter, and was surprised to see Deserk sitting calmly with a smile.

“I’m not the only one who has changed. You have changed as well. All you would think about in the past was combat and fighting.”

Tina interjected, “That is still all he thinks about most of the time. I have to push him not to slack off on his work.” She ignored Des’ glare of indignation.

A sudden explosion took away Des’ reply.

Everybody in the shed quickly dove to the ground, conditioned by years of training. Sounds of autocannon fire shrieked through the air.

“What the heck is going on?” Deserk yelled.

“I don’t know!” Des answered, his formal speech lapsing into contractions. “Get to our mechs, now!”

 

Deserk and Descartin crash-started their mechs, the urgency of the situation precluding the normal slow start, which would preserve engine life. The crash start method had the unfortunate tendency of greatly shortening engine lifespan, which was why mechwarriors used it only in emergencies.

As they got their mechs moving, the transmissions coming from the other mechs were enough to inform them of the situation.

While the mechs of the mercenaries had been searching for the Ragged Ones, Bryan’s Fenris had finally picked up fusion engine signatures from a cave near the dropships.

Moving closer to confirm his find, he had to backpedal quickly when a Mauler came out shooting. The autocannon the mercs had heard were the light AC/2s of the Mauler engaging Bryan’s Fenris.

As they moved out, they were joined by Frank’s half-repaired Night Gyr, Kety’s Gallowglas, and Liase’s Battlemaster. The rest of the mechs had been sent on a wide dispersal search, and all of them were converging rapidly on the site of the battle. It would be several minutes before they were able to arrive, however, so it was up to the five mechs to assist Bryan.

Coming up near Bryan, they saw him fighting a brilliant withdrawal action, staying at a distance from the enemy mechs, and slowly picking them apart with his PPC.

There was a lot of enemy fire, however, and much to their surprise, the Fenris was almost bereft of armor when they finally spied the enemy force.

The most shocking fact was that the attacking mechs were painted with the insignia of the Ragged Ones.

“Cease fire, cease fire!” Frank was yelled over the open channel.

“Useless, boss! I’ve already tried that, but they didn’t say anything, and they kept on shooting at me!” Bryan shouted back.

The Mauler shot again at the Fenris, and Descartin watched in amazement as the autocannon rounds actually seemed to curve in flight to hit Bryan’s Omnimech!

“And watch out, they have precision rounds for their ACs!” Bryan finally pushed his mech out of range, since the others had arrived to take the heat.

“What the heck are precision rounds?” Des was bewildered by the comment.

“Rounds the NAIS boys cooked up, which could track targets!” Frank answered Des.

Huh? Rounds which could track targets? Descartin had heard of advances in Inner Sphere weapon technology, but this was completely unexpected! Maybe Deserk’s offer to go to Outreach is not such a bad idea at all. There must be even more toys that the Inner Sphere scientists had cooked up that the clan can adopt and use.

Turning his attention back to the fight, he fired his dual PPCs, the shots slamming into the Mauler’s right arm and left torso.

“What’s up with these guys? Don’t they know we’re on their side?” Kety was firing his weapons at an enemy Jagermech in a boxing pattern, the shots keeping the enemy mech off balance.

“Who the hell cares? I need some help here!” Liase’s Battlemaster was enduring fire from two enemy mechs, another Jagermech and a Victor. From the looks of things, her mech would not last long.

Qing’s Thor arrived on a slashing attack on the enemy flanks, blindsiding an Enforcer II with his LRMs, LB-X autocannon and extended-range PPC. The Federated Suns produced mech toppled to the ground under the vicious assault. It immediately begun to try to regain his footing.

Descartin braced himself for the Mauler’s counter-assault, consisting of its full armament of LRMs, lasers, and autocannon array. The missiles smashed armor plates all over the Nova Cat, while the one laser tore into his right leg. The autocannon rounds all hit, the precision rounds proving their deadly effectiveness.

Holding his mech steady, Descartin closed in at top speed. Once he got within the minimum range of the LRMs and the autocannons, the Mauler would be at his mercy.

Meanwhile, the others were fighting hard against the Ragged Ones. Frank was staying at long range, trading shots with a Valkyrie and a Dervish. Despite being outnumbered, his Night Gyr was performing quite well with only 60% of its armor present.

It was a holding action at best until the others arrived. As Des glanced right, he saw Deserk blasting an arm off a Blackjack with his PPCs. The firepower of clan technology never failed to impress him, especially when facing frail Inner Sphere mechs.

Yoshino and Kily were the next to arrive. Frank quickly directed them to the Victor and the Valkyrie respectively. The two arrivals laid into the enemy mechs with enthusiasm, their weapons fire severely damaging their opponents. The battle was slowly turning in their favor with every new arrival.

Forsen suddenly came in. “Guys, the camp is under attack! It seems like the entire support staff of the Ragged Ones have gone mad! They’re rushing the dropships!”

Quickly turning his sensors back towards their makeshift camp, Descartin saw the beginnings of a ground battle. More than a hundred screaming people were running towards the dropships.

“Bryan! Get back there and provide heavy support!” Frank ordered.

Good call. Des thought. The young warrior had a great deal of potential, and an instinctive knack for command. Bryan’s Fenris was too badly hurt to engage the main enemy force, but it should be able to clear the ragtag infantry assault easily.

One laser blast shot past his cockpit, bringing him back to the battle. Stepping within close range, he unleashed a full barrage of pulse lasers onto the towering Mauler.

Guided by Des’ sure hand, steady eye, and an advanced targeting computer that despite astech claims of only 256 colors was the best in known space, the three medium pulse lasers and the single large pulse laser carved into the Mauler’s weakened left torso, blowing the entire section away. The assault mech stood in the middle of the field as an burst from the head signaled the ejection of the pilot.

As he looked around for the next target, Des was shocked when he saw the Mauler pilot run into view, firing his pistol at his cockpit.

Has every one of these mercenaries gone mad? Des did not want to take any chances, and fired his laser at the human target, vaporizing the man instantly.

The balance of the “Raiders of the Nile”, as the motley force led by Frank and Descartin called themselves, had finally arrived, and were rapidly reducing the mechs of the Ragged Ones to scrap with concentrated firepower.

Des aimed his PPCs at the Dervish, sending two particle streams into one of its leg. The mech fell to the ground, while Frank quickly moved his Night Gyr close to cover the downed mech.

Frank announced a countdown over his loudspeakers, but the Dervish did not seem to care that Frank had his guns trained on the cockpit of the Dervish. The Dervish raised one arm to fire at Frank, and only Des’ hurried shout got Frank shooting his pulse lasers into the Dervish’s head. The pilot never got out.

It took barely another minute before the last mech, the enemy Victor Yoshino’s Nobori-Nin had engaged, was finally gutted by ammunition explosions.

Likewise, Bryan’s arrival at their camp had ended the enemy infantry attack. Reports were coming in of fanatic pistol-wielding people refusing to surrender and fighting to the last. No prisoners had been captured, such was the level of resistance.

Now the mechs stood around warily, while waiting for the techs to regroup and arrive at the battle site for salvage operations. Some of the mechs were recoverable, especially a Jagermech with only its head blown off.

“At first, it was black killer drones. Now it’s crazy killer techs. What’s next? Killer bunnies?” A sarcastic Kety came in.

“Maybe not.” It was Lorik. “Star Captain Descartin, the attackers traveled here with some vehicles, and we have recovered one key machine from the vehicles. It looks to have been tampered with, and there is some indication that it has been used.”

“You’re suggesting that the machine had something to do with this debacle?” Frank asked.

“Aff. There is something very wrong with this. This gives me several ideas, though, and I will need to go through some of the research papers before I can explain it properly. For the time, I would advise everyone to be extremely cautious of the recovered machines.”

“You don’t have to tell us twice!” Deserk answered, and was echoed by the other warriors.

“Let’s stay around for a while, confirm that the area is secure.” Frank suggested. “If there’s nothing else, we head back to camp to fix up our mechs.”

“Wait one, boss.” It was Patrice in her Talon. “Uh oh. Picking up a trinary of clan mechs approaching!”

Radar contacts were being picked up on his sensors as well.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Descartin viciously suppressed the urge to curse long and hard over the comms. From what he was hearing , the others were not so inclined. After the battle damage they had sustained, it was not a good idea to participate in another battle so soon, especially against clan troops.

“Attention, mercenaries. This is Star Colonel Colbert Icaza of the 7th Falcon Regulars. I challenge you to a Trial of Possession for the key machine you have retrieved from the Ragged Ones. In return, I offer the key machine I have with me should I lose. What say you?”

A Trial of Possession? That suits us just fine. Descartin quickly realized that they did not have to use their full force. Bargaining here would be important.

Let us see if I can convince the Star Colonel to a Star on Star zellbrigen battle. Descartin grinned humorlessly in the cockpit of his Nova Cat. Taking the last key machine in this fight would allow them access to the alien base, once they found it.

Assuming they won this fight, of course.

 

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