Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

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Iceman
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affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
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Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
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Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:17 pm

Registered Contract: DC-DR-06-02
Region: Draconis Combine
System: Stapelfeld
Galactic Coordinates: X: 220.12 Y: 396.68
Days to Jump Point: 4 days
Planet: Stapelfeld
Primary Planetary Climate: Continental
Approximate Population: 512 Million People
Capital City: Hamburg
Contract Type: Diversionary Raid
Primary Operational Terrain: Urban, Heavy
Contract Duration: 6 Months (90 Days in REAL TIME) negotiable
Employer: Draconis Combine
Employer Contact: DCPS Liaison
Command Rights: Independent Command
Forces Recommended: A Company Strength Detachment
Supporting Forces: 20th Pesht Regulars, mercenaries Johiro's Regiments, & Stapelfeld militia
Enemy Forces: now Raven's, Alpha Galaxy's, 6th Raven Battle Cluster and 5th Raven Wing Cluster
Supplement Contracts Offered: Offensive Campaign
Bounty Per Word: 1,600 C-Bills
Minimum Bounty: 24,000 Word Transcript
Bonus Salvage Bounty Target: 48,000 Word Transcript
Bonus Salvage Category: Type-A Salvage

PLANETARY DETAILS:
The capitol of Stapelfeld is Hamburg. Hamburg, a major port city on the northern continent of Neustadt, is connected to the North Sea by the Elbe River. It's crossed by hundreds of canals, and also contains large areas of parkland. Near Stapelfeld's equator, the continent of Inner Alster is dotted with boats and has a plethora of cafes. The planet's only SpacePort city Jungfernstieg, connects the Neustadt (new continent) with the Altstadt (old continent).

Operation Revival 3050
During the Clan Invasion Stapelfeld fell within the invasion corridor of Clan Smoke Jaguar. Lightly populated and with no military to protect themselves, the planetary government surrendered without a fight when Galaxy Commander Frederick Wimmer ended with his Alpha Command Star. Much to his dismay the Galaxy Commander discovered that the planet was of equally little value.


Operation Bulldog 3059
Stapelfeld was invaded in the fourth wave of Operation Bulldog by the First Amphigean Light Assault Group, First Free Worlds Guards, and the First Aragon Borderers. The defending 27th Garrison Cluster only fought long enough to satisfy their honor before accepting a Trial of Possession to be captured by the 1st Amphigean.

Socio-Industrial Levels:
Technological Development
Some advancement; poor educational systems; medical care at level of 21st-22nd century; microelectronics industry non-existent; some areas with higher rating possible, but privately run/held.

Industrialization Level
Some industrialization at level of mid-20th century; fusion reactors imported.

Raw Material Dependence
World/system must import much of its raw materials.

Industrial Output
World has an extremely limited industrial base and imports much of its needs.

Agricultural Dependence
World has and environment producing most foods, but relies on some imports for food not capable of being grown.

EMPLOYER SITUATION REPORT:
Several Combine systems are under vicious attacks by Clan Snow Raven and the Rasalhague Dominion. The objectives of these attacks still remains unclear as well as the entire scope of the invasions. The Draconis Combine was caught flat footed and totally unaware. House Kurita was not prepared to get entangled in a three front war against the Free Worlds League, Clan Snow Raven, and the Rasalhague Dominion. Kurita needs to stem the tide as the Combine is hemorrhaging worlds to its enemies.

On the border with the Snow Ravens, Stapelfeld was one of the worlds hit in the operation first wave. Clan Snow Raven's, Alpha Galaxy's, Sixth Raven Battle Cluster and the Fifth Raven Wing Cluster overran Kurita's Stapelfeld defenders, the 20th Pesht Regulars, during the ground engagement. The surviving military forces, a mix of militia, the Pesht Regulars, and a mercenary command of Johiro's Regiments, have scattered to wage a guerrilla war. In space, the JumpPoints are guarded by a star each, of the 5th Raven Wing Cluster. The rest of the Cluster has established Air Superiority over the air space of Stapelfeld and continue to harrass the planet's defenders.

The most recent intel coming out of Stapelfeld is that the 20th Pesht Regulars are in dire need of an extraction before they ceased to be a fighting unit. We need a command with enough aerospace fighters (or in your case, a WarShip) to punch through the fighter screen at the JumpPoint and land on world to create a diversion to draw the omni fighters off so that the 20th Pesht Regulars can board their DropShips and rendezvous with their JumpShips at a Pirate Point. Be prepared to repel a Clan WarShip. Recent intel streaming from Stapelfeld suggest the possibility of a Carrak Transport still being in system from the Snow Raven's Storm Crow Naval Pursuit Star dubbed the Nestling.

ADDITION INTEL:
-Allies-
20th Pesht Regulars(Battalion/Regular/Reliable) 50%
-CO: Tai-sa Luke Hartman

20th Regulars Aerospace Wing (Regular/Questionable) 60%
-CO: Sho-sa Hector Rodriguez

Johiro's Regiments 75%
-CO: Tai-sa Johiro Wakamoto
Battalion of armor
2 Battalions of Infantry
a Company of Battle Armor

Militia
Regiment of Armor
3 Regiments of Infantry


-Enemies-
Clan Snow Raven
Alpha Galaxy, 6th Raven Battle Cluster (Combat Strength unknown)
CO: Star Colonel Alberto Francesca

Command Nova
3 Supernova Trinaries of OmniMechs/BattleMechs
OmniMech/Battlemech Trinary
Battle Armor Trinary
Aerospace Fighter Trinary

5th Raven Wing Cluster (Combat Strength unknown)
CO: Star Colonel Sarah Merrell

4 Trinaries

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:
1) Neutralize the fighter screen at either JumpPoint
2) Create a diversion to tie up the 6th Raven Wing Cluster granting the Pesht Regulars ample time to lift from planet

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
1) Gather any and all intel on Stapelfeld’s state of affairs
2) Determine the scope of operations and/or future plans of Clan Snow Raven

(IC contract start date July 1st 3096, IC contract conclusion date January 1st 3097)
MISSION SYNOPSIS:

After the conclusion of their last contract, a Planetary Assault on Dieron, where the Ronins got their asses handed to them by the Black Dragon Society (the Kokuryu-kai), Tai-sa Onishi Razan decides not to accept the supplemental. In Lieu of the loss of lives (her romantic interest included) and the number of injured, the Tai-sa is having a confidence problem.

The Ronin’s boost from Dieron leaving the conquest of the District Capital World to Tai-sa Evgeni Morgan's 49th Dieron Regulars who were still embroiled in a bitter holding action against the FWLM and CSot Forces. Simply going through the motions in her depressed fugue condition, she negotiates a contract for a Diversionary Raid out on Stapelfeld mostly to link up with the company the Ronin’s had dispatched to Bjarred. But first the Ronin’s travel to the Terran Corridor to pick up their salvage and purchases and to hire some replacement personnel.

The situation on Stapelfeld is that the planet’s defenders, the 20th Pesht Regulars, were overrun by a Clan Unit, Snow Raven’s , Alpha Galaxy's, Sixth Raven Battle Cluster and the Fifth Raven Wing Cluster. The Dragon wants to preserve the 20th’s unit integrity and wants the Ronin’s to create a diversion that will tie up the 5th Raven Wing Cluster, four Trinaries, or 120 AeroSpace Fighters to give the 20th time to board their transports and make for a pirate point. Even if they were merely Inner Sphere fighters, against the Ronin’s 3 Squadrons (18 Fighters) and the RF MacCreary, her Vigilant Class WarShip, Onishi didn’t like those odds. But against Clan Fighters, it was nigh impossible. Her High Command Staff would have to come up with something.

It is a six month journey from Terra to Stapelfeld. The Ronin’s spend that time on character development and training, integrating, and acclimating their newest recruits into the Ronins. During this time, the Loremaster decides that he will concede on some of his contract sticking points and so therefore, tentatively, Onishi accepts the supplemental to Bjarred. The Ronin’s have a Senior Officer’s briefing before jumping into the Stapelfeld System. The six months cooped up inside the Overlord class DropShip, the Heaven’s Scent, does nothing to alleviate Onishi worsening depression.

Razan’s Ronins risked jumping in a pirate point as their intel did not provide them with data on which JumpPoint the Clan WarShip was stationed at and the Ronin's WarShip Captain did not want to tangle with the Snow Raven's, Storm Crow Naval Pursuit Star’s, Clan Carrak Class WarShip the Nestling. Neutrino Detectors found the Nestling at the Nadir JumpPoint, so Onishi dispatch her three AeroSpace Squadrons to ambush the Snow Raven AeroSpace Star at the Zenith JumpPoint, while the RF MacCreary deployed the Ronin’s two satellites in geostationary orbit at approximately 36,000 km from Stapelfeld and the Ronin’s made planetfall on the Southern tip of the Southern Polar continent of Inner Alster.

From Pirate Point to planet cut the travel time in half, but two days was still plenty of time for the Snow Raven’s to mount a resistance. Cloud cover kept either side from launching fighters but the Ronins dropped into a Hot LZ. Still lacking her usual confidence and slightly Gun Shy, the Tai-sa pulls her unit through the botched landing and rendezvous with the 20th Pehst Regulars and survivors. After setting up her Bivouac and observing the telemetry provided by her orbiting satellites, Onishi puts together a mission to gather intel from a forward observation base to be accomplished by her Mech's Recon and Reconnoiter Lances and her Vehicle Recon Company.

After the successful op and a data dump and analyzation later, her Intel Officer determines the entire scope of operations concerning the Star Bridge War and the future plans of the Clan and that the Snow Raven’s do not garrison their fighters at the SpacePort proper but instead at an off site air base facility. At any given time it will be occupied by at least two full trinaries either down or in for maintenance, repair, refit, refueling, or pilot R&R. The Ronin’s High Command concocts the idea of hitting the Clan Snow Raven AeroSpace Assets while they’re still grounded. The operation is handed off to a Ronin’s adhoc lance of stealth ‘Mechs and their DEST PA(L) platoons. And it was conducted under the shroud of night fall so that increased their mission damage to THREE full trinaries.

At the instant the mushroom cloud from the explosion appeared, the 20th, who were already loaded inside their ‘Mech transports, boosted for their Pirate Point. Tai-sa Onishi Ronin covered her returning Operatives rear and subsequently engaged the Cluster Commander, Star Colonel Alberto Francesca, in a Zellbrigen duel and won and with this victory her confidence came flooding back in one big tidal wave of relief. A few hours later, the Ronins boosted off world too.

DC-DR-06-02 #01

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Jeanette
Nadir Jump Point
Overlord Class Dropship
FlagShip
Heaven Scent
Deck Five
Lounge
Tuesday June 30rd 3096 1010 hours Local

The Heaven Scent's old but comfortable lounge area had been requisitioned for the day. Several times, the occupants of the room had to turn away surprised and grumbling junior officers and enlisted members who had hoped to use the game tables or open bar. What was going on today took far more precedence than their entertainment. Eventually, a couple of Ronin’s MPs, Go-chu (Corporal)s Jamelia Borolossy and Harrison van der Goor were posted in front of the access hatch leading inside to the Lounge to prevent further interruptions and one look at their serious faces sent anyone not invited packing. The occupants were just returning from a quick bathroom and smoke break, ready to continue the briefing and planning sessions. Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi ‘Rough Ryder’ Razan leaned back in her seat at the head of poker table and glanced at the thirty other individuals in the Lounge that constituted the core senior leadership of Ronin Regiment, her regiment. Had she called a High Command meeting it just would have been her and her five Battalion’s Commanding Officers. But this was a Senior Officers meeting so it included all members of the rank Tai-i (Captain) and above. Now had this been an all Officer meeting, it would have included an additional eighty some odd Chu-i (Lieutenant)s and Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant)s as well. Her commander of her third ‘Mech Company and Dragon's Watch Lance, Sho-sa (Major) Shannon ‘Crone’ Parrish was just coming in, right behind Tai-i (Captain) Duane Johnson and laughing at something her fellow officer had said. Onishi just heard the tail end of the conversation as they filtered in.

"No seriously Sho-sa (Major), you CAN fit an elephant inside a Frugal - Way shopping bag."

"Alright Staff, how do you fit an elephant inside a shopping bag?" The young woman was chuckling already, knowing there was a set - up but not sure where".

"Well, first you got to take the 'F' out of Frugal, and then the 'F' out of Way". Johnson kept his face deadpanned the entire time, calmly looking at the grinning Sho-sa (Major). Her alabaster colored skin wrinkled around her eyes for a moment in mock confusion.

"But there's no 'F' in Way . . ."

"Exactly". Johnson's stoic face finally broke into a grin as they both sat down, the Sho-sa (Major) sitting down next to him and rolling her eyes at the corny joke. It was actually a rare talent of Shannon’s, getting even normally stoic individuals to open up, and part of the reason Onishi valued her support as her third ‘Mech Company Commanding Officer. Johnson wasn't normally a subdued man, but he had become quieter, almost brooding since his last drop. Onishi hoped that Shannon would continue to open the man back up. The rest of the staff came into the room, some heading to the bar and grabbing another Timbiki Dark beer, others sitting right down. The beer drinkers showed no shame in cracking open before noon, and none of their companions blinked an eye. Razan’s Ronins lived by the simple philosophy of to each their own until it came time to fight; then every man was expected to have his butt in gear. The last person to enter was Sho-ko (Master Sergeant) Mykayla ‘Sy-Berian Starr’, the Ronin Legion Battalion’s ranking Sho-ko (Master Sergeant) and highest enlisted MechWarrior in the ‘Mech Battalion. She gave Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi a nod, signifying that all of the required personnel were in attendance.

Onishi stood up, looking over the individuals attending. In addition to the four Mechwarriors, the rest of the individuals present were just as critical to the Regiment and its ability to wage war. Most folks with just a minimal understanding of war knew that a ‘Mech Battalion had thirty six pilots, but what most didn't think about was all of the support that those pilots relied on to do their jobs. Each ‘Mech had a Tech assigned, with two additional astechs. The head of all the technicians for Razan’s Ronins Battalion was a slim, dark haired Tai-i (Captain) named Harold Fairbanks. Tai-i (Captain) Fairbanks had a stern, almost disapproving demeanor, but knew his troops inside and out and their ‘Mechs even better. He was actually the oldest Technician in the entire regiment, and could have retired if he hadn't accepted his commission, but as he had told Onishi once "These ‘Mechs are the closest thing to kids I've ever had, I ain’t gonna make ‘em orphans now".

The other PBI officer in the room was Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka ‘Iceman’ Kintaro, the head of the DEST Infantry Battalion attached to the Ronins. He was the first man to grab a beer and sat down next to his PBI buddy, Sho-sa (Major) Reid Mediate. The two men eased back, gregarious and cynical as only grunts could be. Onishi decided it was time to get to business. "Alright folks, we all saw the same intel brief yesterday. We all understand what DCPS Liaison wants us to do. It’s been a rough half year, but now we have a mission, and that mission is Stapelfeld. This Operation will be dubbed ‘Cold Saber’. Eight months ago, Clan Snow Raven hit Stapelfeld and hit it hard. This was not a feint, raid or probe, it’s the full shabang. The objectives of these attacks still remains unclear as well as the entire scope of the invasions. The Draconis Combine was caught flat footed and totally unaware. House Kurita was not prepared to get entangled in a three front war against the Free Worlds League, Clan Snow Raven, and the Rasalhague Dominion. Our House needs to stem the tide as the Combine is hemorrhaging worlds to our enemies.”

“On the border with the Snow Ravens, Stapelfeld was one of the worlds hit in the operations first wave. Clan Snow Raven's, Alpha Galaxy's, Sixth Raven Battle Cluster and the Fifth Raven Wing Cluster overran Kurita's Stapelfeld defenders, the 20th Pesht Regulars, during the ground engagement. The surviving military forces, a mix of militia, the Pesht Regulars, and a mercenary command of Johiro's Regiments, have scattered to wage a guerrilla war. In space, the JumpPoints are guarded by a star each, of the 5th Raven Wing Cluster. The rest of the Cluster, numbering a hundred ten OmniFighters, minus the two Stars at the JumpPoint, has established Air Superiority over the air space of Stapelfeld and continue to harass the planet's scattered defenders.” Onishi paused to allow the gravity of the scenario to sink in thoroughly before she continued.

“The most recent intel coming out of Stapelfeld is that the 20th Pesht Regulars are in dire need of an extraction before they ceased to be a fighting unit. We need to punch through the fighter screen at the JumpPoint and land on world to create a diversion to draw the omni fighters off so that the 20th Pesht Regulars can board their DropShips and rendezvous with their JumpShips at a Pirate Point. We must be prepared to repel a Clan WarShip. Current intelligence streaming from Stapelfeld suggest the possibility of a Carrak Transport still being in system from the Snow Raven's, Storm Crow, Naval Pursuit Star dubbed the Nestling. But the Ronin’s are going to surprise the Snow Ravens. We are going to come in at a Pirate Point ourselves and avoid a direct engagement with the Snow Raven Nestling and dispatch our AeroSpace Fighter wing to which ever Jump Point that the Nestling is not at and destroy their Star of fighters. That will be 10 Clan OmniFighters against our Inner Sphere 18. Any questions so far?"

"Yeah, what the hells a 'shabang'? Kintaro smirked to polite laughter and winked at Onishi. Onishi simply rolled her eyes, shook her head and pressed on.

"We’ll start our in run behind our Small Craft Wing followed by the RF MacCreary, then the Fortress flanked by two Unions, and bringing up the rear will be the Overlord and the two aerodynes. Ice Dragon Wing will need to burn two, two and a half G’s in order to play catch up. Intel is projecting a heavy fighter resistance so be prepared.” Onishi nodded her head to Tai-i (Captain) Torri ‘Nemesis’ Nashiro, the Ice Dragon Wing’s CO.

“Once we hit the upper atmosphere the MacCreary will get both our satellites into geo synchronize orbit via the Mark IVs and Ailette PA(L)s. Then the Corvette will act as our orbital AeroSpace refueling and repair station until we can secure the Travis City airport on the southern polar continent, Inner Alster; at which point we will divide our AeroSpace assets up accordingly.”

“Inner Alster’s Southern Peninsula is also our designated Landing Zone is. Make no mistake about it, if the Snow Ravens are worth their salt, it will be an extremely Hot Drop. After we clear the LZ of all hostiles we will bring our DropShips down and get them camouflaged as best we can for as long as we can. They’ll be sitting ducks on the ground, lambs lined up for the slaughter. The Ronin’s High Command considered returning them to orbit after they’re unloaded but reaction mass became our biggest concern. We don’t want to HAVE to tangle with the Snow Ravens for control of the SpacePort and currently that’s the only place to obtain that precious fuel for our DropShips. We will attempt to locate and make contact with the remnants of whatever still remains of the 20th Pesht Regulars and supporting Guerilla forces. ”

“Three days after we land, we are going to start hitting several of the Snow Ravens’ Forward Bases on all three of the planet’s continents; that should force the defenders to spread themselves out and wear them down. If you look at your packets that the Intel bubbas dropped off, you'll see a list of objectives. This is Spec Ops 101 folks; we'll hit what the enemy doesn’t need, but what he can’t leave undefended."

As the warriors and their support looked over the Cold Saber list of objectives and the map, they all took in what the Tai-sa (Colonel) said. Johnson frowned a little at the target list. None of the targets would violate the Star League Charter, but there were some that were skirting them. Objective 03A was case in point; a power relay inside a small town on the central continent of Altstadt. While hitting the hydro - electrical dam that fed the power relay would be a war crime, this power relay did not have any ‘Lostech’ that humanity was slowly losing due to war. More importantly, it happened to provide power for half of the continent’s Air to Air radar towers. The fact that the town, hospitals and everything else in the immediate area also relied on the power station was just icing on the cake. The Snow Ravens would have to put personnel and resources towards preventing riots, taking care of at risk citizens and running secondary power sources for their defenses - all things that would make the Ronin’s Diversion that much easier in the long run.

Tai-i (Captain) Fairbanks raised his hand, halting Onishi from continuing. "Hmm, some of these objectives are spread out pretty well ... normally for these sort of ops, we try to give you boys a central facility to run repairs." Tai-i (Captain) Fairbanks frowned at the map, considering how to solve his own identified puzzle. "We can’t do that for this one Tai-sa (Colonel), not without living boys making runs on the distance targets too far away to get a quick repair and refit."

Onishi smiled at the seasoned tech. This was one of the reasons why the Razan’s Ronins included support personnel in these sort of briefings. Many conventional units would make their plans and leave it up to the 'beans and bandages' crews to figure it out. The Ronins; however, knew that a Regiment lived or died on its support.

"Thanks for bringing that up Tai-i (Captain). I was thinking along the same lines. Normally, we like to work in a spider web pattern to keep the enemy guessing about where we are hitting next. If we worked a half clock pattern, say twelve to six clockwise before going twelve to six counter - clockwise, could you guys move your support location?"

"We would be exposed briefly while in transit, but yes Ma’am, that could work ..." Fairbanks paused for a minute to deliberate internally. The Technician never hurried in though when it came to his job. Some thought it was because he was simple minded, but those folks were typically fools. He was a simple man in lifestyle, but he thought about the various ins and outs of his job in ways that would tie most peoples' brains in knots. "Actually, long term, that exposes us less than constantly having to move to repair damaged ‘Mechs, which we all know would happen anyways ... I'll get with you later and we'll pre - plan staging points."

"Bokor Chief" Onishi nodded, using the lead Tech's common nickname. "Now, on to the next point-primary objectives vice secondary. For sake of this job, I think quantity has a quality all of its own. We should get the Snow Ravens more flustered by hitting multiple locations with a moderate amount of damage than we would get hitting a few targets with significant damage. Any dissenters to that?" There were some mumblings as the Senior Officers discuss the plans but no one actually complained or objected to the plans as the Tai-sa (Colonel) had outlined them. As the meeting wore on into the afternoon, every member had his or her say. Plans and counter - plans were thrown back and forth, as were jabs, insults and innuendos. Beers were downed, and minds stretched. All in all a normal planning session for the Razan’s Ronins Regiment.

“Okay, let me get everyone’s attention. Uh uhm, . . . Johnson,. . . please. I want to go over unit expansion and then I’ll adjourn this meeting so we all can go get some chow. I don’t know about you guys but I am starving. Okay, Ronin Legion Battalion, no new hardware this go round and all the pilots stayed on for this tour. We have just one new face, Gujin (Private 1st Class) Suki Hachimoto, to replace Go-chu (Corporal) Jamila Shani, may she rest in peace.” Onishi was quiet for several awkward moments as she struggle with the emotions that welled up inside her. Not so much over Jamila’s demise but more so over her own significant other’s death on Dieron, Masaru Recep.

She fought back the tears stoically and began again. “Where was I? Oh yes, just about a year ago I stood up here and said why mess with perfection and was referring to Steel Dragon Battalion. Well now I have to eat crow. On our last mission, the Black Dragon Society showed me just how imperfect that unit really was. Hence, in an attempt to rectify my shortcomings, Steel Dragon has went through some extensive re - org and has had two new Companies added and are now a reinforced Battalion with a 1st Battalion and a Bravo Section. I have pulled Dragon Scale Lance out of Trident Company and made it the anchor lance for one new company, Bardiche Company, under the Elite commander Tai-i (Captain) Segundo Agbayani. Dragon Scale was replaced in Trident by an Urban Combat Lance consisting of four Typhoon Urban Assault Vehicles with twin 90mm rotary auto cannons, four short ranged streak quad launchers, and two extended range medium lasers, complimented with Beagle Active Probes to locate those pesky infantry squads. Never again will I stand by and witness members of my command getting slaughtered and not be able to do something about it. The Lance is headed up by Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Benjamin Acheson. To round out Bardiche Company we moved the Infantry Support Lance from Halbred Company and the Mechanized Infantry Lance from the MWR Battalion. The Third Company of the 1st Battalion is Recon Company. I have pulled Awakening Dragon Lance from Halbred Company to head up Recon Company, led by Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Leonard Kang. His lance will be primarily for Surveillance. I have given him a Probe Lance, Earth Dragon, with two Pegasus Scout Tanks and two Beagle Hover Scouts in the capable hands of Lance Leader Sho-ko (Command Sergeant) Samantha Dzaferi. And finished the Company off with a Scout Lance, Howling Dragon, under the watchful eye of Chu-i (Lieutenant) Tonya Everleigh piloting one of two Pandion Combat WiGEs and transferred into her lance both our Gray Death Scout Squads.”

“The Bravo Section of the Steel Dragon Battalion is headed up by the Mobile HQ Lance and Sho-sa (Major) Karen Tsang. Her two supporting lances are a second APC Lance and LMTT Lance. I had to separate the gun trailers from our Logistics and supply Lance trucks. The LMTT trailers out weighed their host tractor, the World Rover, at a ratio of 3:1. The Apocalypse weighed in at a paltry two tons. Hell the LMTT was six. It just slowed it down to a crawl. And the twenty ten trucks that towed the 35 ton gun trailers, well, we burnt up a total of five transmissions in the past twelve months between to two trucks. The APC with their GM Off Road positron differentials are more than capable of towing these guns and trailers. They’re rated to tow twice their own weight, which is twenty tons. So you see, problem solved. I purchased one of each of these Sexy Beasts, standard, LRM, SRM, and the machine gun variant. Bravo Section is complete with Glaive Company or our Artillery Battery, no changes there. If you’re still with me, the rest is down hill from here,” the Tai-sa (Colonel) quipped.

“To the DEST Battalion we added a point of Steele Dagger Spec Ops Armor a Level I of Purifier Armor to replace the vacancy created by the transfer of the Gray Death Scouts. We did however, shift the Oni and the Raiden Battle Armor Squads up to the newly renamed Light & Medium BA platoon and added the Steele Dagger and the Purifier to the renamed Heavy & Assault BA platoon. To the Transport Company’s, Rapid Response Lance we added a set of Kestrel VTOLs and called them Hawk Flight as well as six Bluestreak monocycles, strictly for experimental purposes, in a lance simple called Bluestreak for a squad deployment type scenario. They are uber quick with a top speed of 210 kph and extremely agile after you master your balance on just one wheel.”

“The Dragon Cavalry VTOL Squadron, no change. To the MWR Battalion just a few. We transferred the Prowler from the DEST Battalion’s, Transport Company to Bivouac Lance to provide some measure of security. Quite frankly I believe Nebraska is as looney as a toon but he’s good at being a ROM Agent. We also swapped out the Ailette PA(L) from the Exoskeleton Manpower platoon to the Artillery Supply Lance to help with the heavy lifting of the Long Tom shells and transferred in the Blizzard from the DEST Battalion. And we did a straight trade to the Steel Dragon’s, Bravo Section Towing Lance for the APC in the Triage Company’s Fire & Rescue platoon for a Darter Scout. But the unit expansion you’ve all been most anxious about is the new Dormitory Lance. I have acquired two more Living Quarters Bunkers for a total of four, so now you guys no longer have ‘community’ rooms. You can now pick a room, on a first come first serve basis, and personalize it because it’s now going to be permanently your quarters, ah, with one stipulation. Everyone must have a room mate. There are only two hundred forty rooms available and there’s a little bit more than four hundred of you. That’s it. Let’s go eat. You’re dismissed.”

WORD COUNT 3372

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE



DC-DR-06-02 #02

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inbound
Overlord Class Dropship
FlagShip
Heaven Scent
Deck Three
Tai-sa (Colonel) Quarters
Wednesday July 1st 3096 1300 hours Local

“I don’t know Owen but we’ve got to find our niche, something we’re good at and hone it to a razor’s sharpness. I don’t want to be a ‘Jack of all Trades’ unit. I want a specialty’, complained Onishi

“I realize that boss, but like what?” Owen uttered very calmly in direct contrast to the growing exasperation he detected in Onishi’s rising crescendo.

“I DON’T KNOW, I keep telling you. But I do know this. I am tired of being the ‘Go To’ unit. I don’t want to test LAMs. I don’t want to do anymore assassinations. I don’t want to be associated with the ISF.”

“You know that you’re cutting of your nose to spite your face, don’t you?” Owen tried to reason with Onishi.

“Huh?” Vrroooom. His analogy flew straight over his boss’ head.

“I’m just saying, that if you voice this to the Modern Innovated Tactics Board, you’ll either lose control over the Ronins or you’ll lose a lot of the perks that we enjoy.” He broke it down into layman’s terms for her.

“Aaaaugh! You’re probably right. But I do know this. I want to stress combine arms from here on out. We have the resources to pull it off. If ‘Mechs go out on a mission, I want them covered with a flight of Aerospace fighters, a vehicle lance, and either a PA(L) squad or battle armor squad and visa-versa. If infantry go out on a mission, I want them covered by a VTOL flight at least one ‘Mech and artillery support. If Aerospace fighters get dispatch, I want a Small Craft flight dispatch and a DropShip on ready stand by. What I don’t want is another repeat of Dieron. We could have, should have done much better. I don’t like seeing members under my command dying uselessly for no other reason than command did not have the foresight. We had resources, we should have used them. The rules of engagement outlined in the contract be damned. That’s what we have liaisons for to fight our battles on paper. We fight with blood, sweat, and tears. We should have mobilized our ‘Mechs, our tanks, and our Artillery and bombed the hell out of the Kokuryu-kai. I’ll good and guarantee you one thing, if you’d have walked into New Leon with your Battlemaster and that Atlas, things sure would have turned out a whole lot different. Hell, we could have launch a strategic orbital bombardment to let them know we meant business instead of pussy footing around dancing through legal mumbo jumbo hoops and watching our men get shot to pieces. Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes Ma’am. Crystal. But Onishi, hear me out. You are speaking from your heart right now and your heart has just suffered a grievous wound. That’s the pain talking, the hurt, the loss that you feel. You know that you have other obligations that you MUST meet. Like take for instance that the Ronins are running a monthly expense in excess of 100,000,000 c-bills a month in just salaries, maintenance, and overhead and that doesn’t even include battle damage. We can not afford for a payment to be tied up in the MRBC. Do you know what would happen if the entire unit went a month without maintenance? Let alone without c-bills to pay salaries. We’ll try again tomorrow after you calm down and sleep on it.” Owen turned and left the Tai-sa (Colonel) stateroom.

. . . .

The DropShip's deck shuttered under her feet as Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Jing ‘China Doll’ Li made her way to her commanding officer's cabin. She hadn't taken the time to change. Jing still wore her sweat stained Mechwarrior suit, cooling vest and all. Reaching Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi's hatch, Jing reached up to knock and then she hesitated.

The door slid open as Sho-sa (Major) Owen ‘Kestrel’ Callaghan exited Onishi’s cabin. Surprised to see Jing he waited for the door to close before speaking.

"Are you ok?" Owen asked genuinely concerned, the small, demure Chinese woman looked like she was about ready to break into tears.

Jing nodded. "Is the boss ok …. does she know?" Jing asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Owen replied to both questions with a single answer. "You don't need to do this in person, no one blames you."

"I need to." Jing responded quietly.

Owen nodded sadly and stepped out of Jing's way. Jing took a deep breath, hit the opening button and stepped through the hatch.

"Onishi … Tai-sa (Colonel) … I …" Jings choked as the words she'd practiced since the incident, a full month ago, deserted her. Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi ‘Rough Ryder’ Razan had been propped up in her bunk, her right arm still in a cast. Seeing her friends distress Onishi swung her feet over the edge and on uncertain legs made her way over to Jing, then to the older woman's surprise, Onishi embraced her.

"There is nothing to forgive." Onishi said, her voice tightly controlled as she fought back the waves of emotion threatening to overwhelm her. "I sent you because if you couldn't save him no one could." Onishi held Jing at arm's length so she could look Jing in the eye. "You didn't kill Masaru, the Kokuryu-kai did. You did not let me down, we were overwhelmed. Next time we will have our revenge."

Jing nodded, determination starting to mask her other emotions. "I won't let you down Onishi."

"I know you won't. Go see to your lance, they need their leader." Onishi instructed as much as ordered. Jing nodded again, not yet trusting her voice to respond she saluted instead and left leaving Onishi alone with her thoughts again. Dieron had been a disaster, the 49th Dieron Regulars had collapsed in the face of the FWLM assault and Onishi's attached mercenary regiment had not been spared the consequences. 6 ‘Mechs lost, more crippled, 56 KIA or MIA, most of the regiment wounded including herself. Her man was among the missing, presumed dead, Masaru had been evacuating the wounded from Canton Down's Hospital, typically of him he had insisted on being the last one out and when the convoy was overrun his gun trailer had burnt.

Grief threatened to overwhelm her as she replayed the events in her head, but she forced the memory down. Onishi wanted to mourn, to lie down and cry her eyes out, but there would be time for that later, in the meantime she had work to do.

WORD COUNT 1135

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE






DC-DR-06-02 #03

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Turnover
Overlord Class Dropship
FlagShip
Heaven Scent
Deck Five
Briefing Room
Thursday July 2nd 3096 0430 hours Local

At 0300, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Gaspare Begley made love to his wife. Beckey Begley was on the Razan’s Ronin’s Payroll as the chef in the MWR Battalion’s, Social Services Company’s, Bivouac Lance. At 0430, he stood over his teenage daughter’s bed. When he bent to kiss her round little cheek, he inhaled an aroma of sweet talc and ‘women’s perfume’, and he lingered for another moment, fixing the smell in his mind. He had reluctantly agreed to allow her to come along on this combat mission only as an Astech assigned to the Ronin’s Union Class DropShip, the Dragon’s Nest. At 0515, there was a preflight briefing, and he sat in a metal chair so cold the chill leeched into his bones. And at 0720, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Gaspare Begley got ready to die.


Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inbound
Upper Atmosphere
Hankyu Squadron
Ice Dragon Nine
Aven AV – S2
Thursday July 2nd 3096 0800 hours Local

Another blast of swirling turbulence crashed into the aerospace fighter head - on, punching the nose of his craft with a ferocity that shuddered into Begley’s teeth. The Aven AV – S2’s engines let out a high sputtering whine, like the coughing turbine of a motor about to stall. Cursing, Begley grappled with his stick as the fighter bucked, lost angels, and then heaved heavenward again. Thank Christ, he wasn’t flying the lighter Sholagar; battling goo like this would be what a pea felt like being shaken in an empty tin can, and Begley supposed that, all things considered, he ought to be grateful for this at least. The Sholagars of Emerald Dragon Flight flew recon ahead of Begley’s flight, Burning Dragon, TACANs sweeping the upper atmosphere for bearing and slant range. Find the suckers, and then the Sholagars were to fall back and get the hell out of dodge without getting vaporized . . . if they could. It wasn’t as if the Sholagars didn’t pack a nice punch, with three Light Particle Projection Cannons, and a one shot air – to – air, four rack, short ranged, missile launcher. It was more due to their armor. They mounted 7 tons of Ferro – Aluminum armor and his Aven carried 11. The Sholagars were considered heavily armed against another light fighter.

The storm had been a surprise, though not as surprising as what had happened yesterday when the Snow Ravens flickered into existence. Caught everyone with their britches down and picking their noses. Two Clan DropShips, with near enough Aerospace Fighters to wipe out the whole planet, if that’s what the Snow Ravens had in mind. Given that a squadron of Johiro's Regiment’s aerospace fighters had been reduced to subatomic dust a day ago . . . well, you could say that was a pretty clear message of the Clans intent. Loud and clear.

Of course, none of this was supposed to happen. With all the commotion the Snow Ravens were raising over the border with the Draconis Combine, and the rumors about them going after Stapelfeld, no one was prepared, least of all Operation Cold Saber’s Central Command aboard the Vigilant Class WarShip, the RF MacCreary, what with all the Ronin’s Yumi Squadron pulled back to deal with guarding the Nadir JumpPoint from Clan Snow Ravens reinforcements. Whoever’d made that really bright move essentially quashed any hope of the Ronins being able to mount anything you might call resistance.

Stapelfeld’s planetary militia had always been a joke, skeletal at best. So Command had decided to attack the planet, rather than trying to take the Snow Ravens out near the jump point: specifically, Begley’s flight, Burning Dragon with Dragon Flight flying mop - up a thousand klicks back led by the overall Ice Dragon Wing’s CO, Sho-sa (Force Commander) Torii 'Nemesis' Nashiro with a wingman of a guy named Sho-i (Captain) Mustafa 'Gunslinger' Asif. Begley didn’t know Asif well. Had figured he had plenty of time to get to know him. Probably, given how things were going, he’d figured wrong.

Everyone was going in hot, Begley in the lead, their Avens and Koroshiyas nearly line abreast in a figure - four. They knifed through thick roiling masses of ionized clouds that worked both ways . . . a blessing and a curse, one of those good for goose and gander kind of things. Sure, he couldn’t see worth a shit, and his sensors had been reduced to green - and - red jittering hash, with only the Sholagars and his Flight clearly visible because the Sho-sa (Force Commander) had ordered them to stay two hundred klicks apart, a distance roughly equivalent to an Aven’s turn radius. Elbow room for maneuvering and attack; no sense in their making tac turns only to fly up each other’s tail pipes.

His comm wasn’t much better: a mish mash of garbled voices sifted through the static that he only half registered because none of the Command - babble was worth a good goddamn. The only thing that brightened his day was the sure knowledge that if things were bad for him, they had to be just as bad for the Snow Raven’s. Maybe.

A crackle in his headset: “Guns 36 . . . en . . . acts . . . ight . . . spect!”

The Sholagar, or the Emerald Dragon Flight leader, Sho-i (Captain) Mearl ‘Hawk’ Hawkins, was reporting contact. “Say again, ‘Hawk’,” barked Begley. “I repeat. Say again. All After Guns 36 . . .”

Fizzle, pop, then a splutter: “Guns 36 . . . ten . . . forty right . . . sixty klicks, high . . . hot . . . !” Spritz, crackle, and then Begley glanced at his sensors and saw that the little red speck that had been the Sholagar was gone. But Begley understood: ten contacts, forty degrees right, sixty klicks, high aspect.

For a brief instant, as he prepared his flight to turn hard right to intercept, a stream of memory burned a trail across his consciousness, like the bright streak of a meteor. He felt the good, warm body of his wife in his arms, the feel of his daughter’s hair, the softness of his wife’s lips and the way they tasted. He remembered fingers of wind on his cheeks and the wonder of a leaf in his hand. He remembered living. He remembered his life. It had been a good one.

Chu-i (Lieutenant) Gaspare Begley said, “Dragon flight, check forty right, throttle up, now!” No one acknowledged, but they didn’t have to. They turned, and Begley fired his aft thrusters. A lion’s roar of power competed with the violence of the storm, and a giant fist punched Begley against his seat as his Aven leapt into battle. The sudden g’s left him light - headed for a giddy instant, and he grunted automatically, raising his vascular pressure with an instinctive Valsalva maneuver that forced blood back into his brain until his g - suit compensated. His Aven and his wing mate’s, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Shie Cradock, gobbled up air, and they were climbing, climbing . . .

And then it was as if the Snow Ravens materialized out of a thick mist. First the churning clouds, and then a queer red glow lighting the atmosphere with fire, and then Begley’s contact alarms screamed. A rain of ruby red laser fire sliced the air, dancing around Begley’s canopy. The lasers were so close their glare burned through Begley’s protective visor and left purple afterimages sizzling on his retinas. The Snow Ravens thundered out of the clouds, ten strong, their lasers darting ahead like fiery tongues, followed by the massive hulk of the DropShip close behind.

“Mother of God!” exclaimed Begley, and even as his computer shrilled that the Snow Ravens were acquiring target locks; even as his flight and sister flight broke formation for evasive maneuvers; even as the air over his canopy burned . . . he knew. It would be the last prayer he’d ever say.

WORD COUNT 1426

NPC
Name: Gaspare Begley
Callsign: ‘Terrier’
Rank: Chu - i (Lieutenant)
Hardware: Aven AV – S2
Battalion: Wakayama Aero Assault
Wing: Ice Dragon
Squadron: Hankyu
Flight: Burning Dragon
Assignment: Bomber
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE

Name: Torii Nashiro
Callsign: ‘Nemesis’
Rank: Tai - i (Captain)
Hardware: Koroshiya KOS – 1A
Battalion: Wakayama Aero Assault
Wing: Ice Dragon
Squadron: Hankyu
Flight: Dragon
Assignment: Air Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

User avatar
Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:20 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #04

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inbound
Upper Atmosphere
Hankyu Squadron
Ice Dragon Three
Transgressor TR – 13A
Thursday July 2nd 3096 0900 hours Local

One second Hankyu Squadron was transmitting, the next they were simply gone from their lookdown radar. No enemy contact, no nothing. That was theoretically impossible. Two undeniable facts: The universe could kill a guy a thousand ways to Sunday, and what the universe couldn’t do, the Snow Ravens were pleased as punch to finish.

Now, his onboard sensors shrilled a warning about five milliseconds before Chu-i (Lieutenant) Keevhan ‘Sidewinder’ Searls’ Transgressor hit another pocket of turbulence.’ Oh, yeah, baby, bring it on! Peg that old fun meter one more time!’ Searls’s altitude dropped, and his stomach balled in his throat. Searls wrestled his bird, angled off fifty degrees, and then let out a slow exhalation when he felt the fighter lift.

Static sizzled in his headset, “Whoa, shake and bake, Baby!” Searls grinned past the acid taste in his mouth. “A chance to excel, ‘Diamond’.”

“Uh - huh,” said ‘Diamond’, aka Sho-i (Captain) Jade Croft, Searls’s Dash Two for what seemed like a million years and was closer to five. “Punches my ticket.”

Searls grunted. Seven hours ago, the RF MacCreary Command’s systems’ boards had lit up like a Christmas tree when the Snow Ravens DropShip winked in at the upper atmosphere. Count ’em, boys and girls, numero uno DropShiperino. That mother coughed out a Two Stars of Clan Aerospace Fighters, the beads blowing free like spit wads shot out from a straw, and Command got all kinds of beaded up. To top it all, the sun burped, big time, and with all that superheated plasma gumming up the works, all Command could figure was that the DropShip had lifted from off the planet, then deployed twenty aerospace fighters. Going where? Who knew? Some Brainiac crunched numbers, figured that fighters (plural) would hit Stapelfeld’s ionosphere roundabout twelve hundred over Inner Alster, just in time to foul up the Ronins landing . . . he guessed.

The preflight briefing came at oh - five - thirty. A dour commander, Torii Nashiro, reminded them of everything they didn’t know. “But whatever happens, one thing’s crystal, boys and girls. You will not fire unless fired upon.”

Terrific; an aerial quick draw. But Searls didn’t say anything, just suited up with his squadron . . . ’Diamond’; Sho-i (Captain) Kathy ‘Candy’Granqvist; Chu-i (Lieutenant) Tadahisa ‘Mailman’ Martin, blonde haired Tai-i (Lieutenant Commander) Kilani ‘Maverick’ Perio, and Sho-i (Captain) Micciah ‘Lucky Goose’ Galvrus . . . and blasted out of there. The upside: They had nothing less than 65 tons, Lucifers, Suzakus, a Transgressor, and even an 85 ton, Word of Blake manufactured Striga and could take on a medium - size DropShip, push came to shove. The downside? Their line up packed muscle, but they were slower than molasses in an atmosphere; hence, the decision to engage the enemy in the upper reaches of the atmosphere where gravity didn’t count as much, and there was enough ionized crap to hide their signatures. (And, oh, yes, had Searls mentioned that, in a Transgressor, a guy couldn’t eject? Well, he couldn’t eject. Sweet.)

Searls’s Transgressor knifed through shimmering curtains of multicolored auroras that were shet - mah - mouth beautiful, and a bitch to maneuver through. Deathwing Flight was way up high: angels fourteen - hundred - and - change above the floor. They flew a classic box: Searls and Jade in front of Kathy and Martin by six kilometers; Jade two - point - seven - four klicks behind and point - three - oh - four - eight klicks above Searls’ right side; Martin the same for Kathy. And Galvrus the same for Kilani twelve klicks back. It was Searls’ job to search and report, Jade’s to watch his tail, Blue Dragon’s Flight to engage and destroy, and as Ice Dragon Six, Martin’s to make like his neck was on ball bearings and cover all their collective asses.

Suddenly, his computer blatted. Searls snapped to, felt his heart kick up, said, “Ice Dragon three has six, Repeat six contacts, forty right, angels sixteen - four.”

An instant later, ‘Candy’ Granqvist’s voice filtered in a wash of static. “Ice Dragon five confirms same. Read three points of bogies, forty degrees right, altitude now sixteen - three.” A pause. “Confirm two, green for go.”

‘Diamond’: “So where the hell are the other four?”

Good question. Searls chewed the inside of his right cheek. Six unidentified fighters, angling down from sixteen - thousand klicks and change . . . and green: not acquiring, not even hot. And four Snow Ravens missing. Headed somewhere else? Or hiding in all that plasma soup, waiting for a chance to slip in at their six o’clock?

Evidently the strike controller ticked through the same calculus because there was a squall of interference, and the words, “ . . . change . . . eading . . . atch . . . and speed . . . do . . . engage . . . conflict.”

Lord, help me. “Control, this is Ice Dragon Leader, say again.” More fuzz and urps, though Kilani caught deconflict.

“Ho, boy,” said ‘Lucky Goose’. “I don’t phukkin like that.”

Searls didn’t either. Deconflict. Translation: Wait until Command decided these were the bad guys.

The squadron leader replied, “Roger, Control, ‘Maverick’. Thirty - seventy.”

Searls watched as the bogies remained to his right, forty degrees off the horizontal, but shedding altitude: fifteen - six . . . fifteen - one . . . fourteen - nine. Then he made a decision. And screwed Command. “Ice Dragon Three, Deathwing flight and Black Raven Flight, check forty right.”

No one pointed out that Searls’ order turned them toward the Snow Ravens instead of away. Not even the Squadron Leader. She trusted her squadron’s XO. But they were too far away to answer that old bogie - bandit question, so, by God, they’d get closer. They executed hard rights, ‘Diamond’s turn putting her five hundred klicks ahead of Searls. Throttling down, ‘Diamond’ angled up to cover Searls’ rear. Searls stayed glued to his HUD as the bogies squiggled, resolved, metamorphosed into . . . Oh, hell. Just to be sure, he blinked, double - checked his IFF, and said, “Ice Dragon three is tallyho five points, repeat ten bandits, zero, nine - point - six klicks.”

“Five?” ‘Diamond’ said again. And then: “Uh - oh.”

Now Searls saw it, too. First there were six Issus. And then there were ten. Fanning out from their flight - mates’ electromagnetic shadows, four additional Issus fell into a diamond formation . . . coming right for them and closing fast.

A second later, ‘Candy’ called out,“Ice Dragon five is tallyho ten bandits, nine - point - two klicks and closing. ID Friend or Foe confirms Issus. Confirm, Control.”

‘Candy’ was cool; he had to give her that. Searls watched as the pings streaked right for them. Suckers got the speed of heat and can turn on a dime, so it’d be like a knife fight in a phone booth, and, yeah, we outgun them, but they can evade, so where’s the sense in that . . .

Three seconds went by, then ten. Searls rekeyed for Control: “Ice Dragon Three is tallyho ten bandits, eight - point - six klicks. Request confirmation.”

His answer was a hiss followed by a pop, and something that sounded like a man gargling underwater. And that was the extent of his contact with strike control. Then his HUD flared, and Searls looked. Looked again. And cursed.

‘Diamond’ shouted into her headset, “Ice Dragon Four, read bandits, coming in hot!”

Hot. The Issus were targeting, and Searls would have bet his bottom Ryu note the Snow Ravens wouldn’t wait around for them to take their shots. Unless we shoot first. Searls’ thumb searched out his laser override switch, one o’clock on his throttle . . . and hesitated as a new thought bubbled to the surface: But what if . . . “ ‘Candy’, ‘Mailman’, throttle up, assume four at forty - five, two - point - seven klicks, go hot.”

The Squadron leader did not countermand the Chu-i (Lieutenant) order; everyone did as the XO said and in ten seconds Kathy and Martin had caught up to assume positions right and left of his wing as ‘Diamond’ dropped back and shed altitude. Searls nudged his speed to put on some distance until they were configured in a flat, elongated diamond, Searls in the lead. And they were hot.

Now it was a test of nerves and speed. Yes, the Issus’ turn radius was tighter. Only his guys had superior weaponry, but then his guys were outnumbered two and a half to one, so one of two things would happen. Either each would break off and start turning, hard, cutting their turns and threading their fighters across ever - narrowing loops until one slid in to their opponent’s rear and took his shot. Or they’d get a knife fight in the cold, hard, darkness of space. Dueling fighters scissoring nose - to - nose, back and forth in sheer, fast vertical or horizontal turns, like knitting needles crossing, uncrossing, crossing, until one fighter got inside the other’s turn, slid in behind, and let’er rip. And gravity didn’t count for a damn in space because a fighter never ran out of vertical velocity. Problem was the Issus could run circles around them, and the last thing Searls would see would be a laser chewing its way up his ass. Unless . . . he got very, very lucky.

“ ‘Sidewinder’!” it was Kathy, her voice ratcheted way up tight. “VID bandits, closing!”

And now Searls had visual ID, too. Ten black specks that grew from the size of mites to ball bearings, and then resolved into stippled fighters, and now he could see their contrails. Come on, come on. Searls watched as his HUD tracked the incoming Issus, responding with automatic targeting information continuously updated for course and speed. His throat was dry, the stuffy air in his mask smelled like mildewed rubber and sweat slithered down the knobs of his spine. Come on, you gotta know I’m hot, you gotta see it; so come on, you bad boys, show me what you got. The fighters growing larger and larger, Stapelfeld’s crazy sun dancing bright sparkles that bounced off the Issus’ hulls, turning their canopies a molten orange . . . larger and larger, and the ten Issus screaming full - bore. A game of chicken. Searls had to break at the last possible second, praying like hell that the lead Snow Raven would break first so he’d catch which way the lead Issus’ nose went, up or down. And that would work to Searls’ advantage because then he’d know where the sonuvabitch was headed and match him turn for turn until he maneuvered the Snow Ravens into his kill zone.

Except . . . the Issuss weren’t breaking. Would you look at how tight they are? They’re practically on top of each other. They’ve got to be inside each other’s wakes and in all that plasma that would . . . Searls gasped. Plasma in their wake! Oh, shit, shit! “Break, break, break!” Searls screamed into his squadron frequency . . . too late.

His collision alarms shrilled as the Issus rocketed through, cracking Searls’ squadron wide open and dragging their real and best weapon in their wakes, a roiling, churning cone of supercharged, ionized plasma.

Searls caught one brief glimpse of the lead Issus . . . a flash of red and black . . . before his Transgressor slammed into the vortex of plasma. His fighter lurched and bucked, skipping like a flat stone on a pond. He ricocheted off an instrument panel hard enough to send pain lancing into his skull. The taste of wet pennies filled his mouth, and he gagged against hot blood.

Then, a woman screaming, a long rope of sound abruptly cut as ‘Candy’s Suzaka, out of control, burst in an orange fireball. Searls barely had time to register that when his collision alarms shrilled again. ‘Diamond’s Striga closing too damn fast. Screaming, Searls yanked back on his stick, forcing his nose up, up, up; his mind racing. Maybe I’ve outrun it. Maybe the worst is over. Maybe it’s still okay. Maybe . . .

Then there were no more maybes. Turbulence roared in like a tidal wave, smacking his fighter’s belly, forcing him not up but over in an arcing loop, and then Searls was barreling straight down, nose - first, with the speed of a fighter kicked into overdrive. Out of control! He was out of control! Searls registered ‘Diamond’ dead ahead, the way ‘Diamond’s wings waggled, knew that ‘Diamond’ was battling her craft; saw the Black Raven Flight black of ‘Diamond’s helmet, then ‘Diamond’s black visor as she looked up and saw Searls.

“No!” Searls screamed, and then he went against all that was holy. Instead of easing off, he pushed his speed, kick - jumping and throttling up before jerking his fighter in a hard left, splitting air and breaking wide of ‘Diamond’s fighter by a hair’s breadth. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw ‘Diamond’ careering past, ‘Diamond’s Striga twirling along its horizontal axis, out of control.

Then his alarms screamed again, and Searls’ heart banged into his throat. Frantic, he looked right, left, then faced front. There! Another Suzaka whirling right for him. ’Mailman’.

Later, Searls would wonder why ‘Mailman’ wasn’t spared. As Iron Falcon Six, his fighter was the farthest away, highest up. Theoretically, ‘Mailman’ should’ve escaped the worst. Maybe, in those first few, critical seconds, he’d reversed hard, intending to bleed altitude and, in the confusion, lost sight of Searls. Or he’d gone into a spin and was just recovering, unaware of everyone else’s position. Or maybe it was just bad luck. They did the only thing they could. They broke. Searls angling up, and ‘Mailman’ dropping to a dive. They should’ve missed one another. But, somehow, they didn’t.

There was a violent lurch as ‘Mailman’ clipped him, and Searls’ Transgressor porpoised. Breaching then falling, smacking air, hard. Tethered in his harness, Searls flopped and bounced like a fly in a spider’s web. His vision swirled, the images zipping one after the other. A blur of aurora, then clouds, then the blackness of space directly ahead and the bright eyes of the distant, impersonal stars, then the orange flames of engines as the Issus shot themselves back into heaven.

Bucking, Searls’ Transgressor climbed once more then flipped, belly - up, and now he saw the dizzying curtain of the aurora again, only directly overhead because he was upside down, and Searls had time for one jagged thought. Please, God, don’t let the power cut out, don’t let . . .

The power cut out. His engines failed, and Searls tumbled out of the sky like an angel fallen from grace. Now, gravity counted. Searls was accelerating, shedding altitude at breakneck speed, the air sheeting, howling over his canopy. Gravity swelled like a gathering storm, then broke, washing over him like a gigantic wave hammering the shore. Gray ate at the edges of his vision, and he was gasping, pulling for air, vaguely aware of the bladders of his G - suit filling. Then, something took over. A combination of training and instinct and maybe just good old self - preservation because Searls grunted, hard. Bore down with all his might, forcing blood into the empty vessels that nourished his brain. And then he could think again. Not a whole lot. Just a little. But it was enough.

Got to reach the recovery switch. Struggling against unconsciousness, he moved one leaden arm, but it was hard work and his arm was so damn heavy and he’d never been so tired and banged up and beat up in his life. His right arm lifted with agonizing slowness, his finger shoving through air thicker than molasses. For a fraction of a second, maybe less, he couldn’t remember why that stupid spin recovery switch was so damned important. His brain hitched over the problem. Airspeed’s zero . . . got to roll the ship . . . angle . . . down . . . got to angle down . . .

There was pressure against his right index finger; now, through his glove, he felt the bite of the switch, a sense of something giving. Then, a shudder ripped through the Transgressor’s frame, and there came a loud, throaty rumble.

Then he saw something beyond his canopy, something whizzing in a blue - and - silver blur, then it was gone, then it came again, then gone, then again, and . . .

“ ‘Sidewinder’!” A voice lasering his brain: ‘Maverick’, right beside him, dropping with him, staying with him, trying to talk him back from the dead. “ ‘Sidewinder’, ‘Sidewinder’, you’ve got power! ‘Sidewinder’, damn it, answer me! You’ve got starboard engines, but you’ve rolled belly down, you’re spinning! Searls, throttle back, get your nose down, get it down, get it down!”

Control, get control! And now Searls remembered why getting his nose down was so damned important: because his airspeed was zero, his Transgressor spinning counterclockwise, belly to the ground. He wasn’t generating lift; there was no way for him to arrest his descent or break out of his spin unless he managed to cant his Transgressor and slew left into a controlled slide . . . but only if he went against instinct and notched his power down.

Searls fumbled, searching for the throttle. Got to do this just right, can’t let it cut out again. He forced himself to move slowly and deliberately, throttling back in increments. The Transgressor’s spin let up a little, and he dragged his fighter’s nose down ten degrees. Still not enough, but throttle back more and his engines might just cut out again.

Then he did something that, when he thought about it later on, saved his life and sure as hell wasn’t in any manual. But he did it anyway.

Searls simultaneously throttled back and deployed his Transgressor’s nose and left landing gear . . . but not his right. Somewhere deep in his brain was this cockamamie plan: create enough drag to cant his errant ship down but left to break the fighter’s horizontal plane enough to grab air.

Suddenly, he saw the horizon . . . and, dear God, he had dropped far enough for there to be a horizon . . . and clouds spread in a foamy cushion. Thirty, forty degrees mark . . . come on, come on, lemme see it . . . The Transgressor still spun, but more drunkenly now, as if the craft were a top running out of kinetic energy. He kept inching back on power, knowing that, if push came to shove, he could land with one engine. That didn’t happen, though, and in another second, Searls knew he was going to live through this.

“Damn,” said ‘Maverick’. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Searls was soaked through with sweat. “ ‘Mailman’?”

A pause. “Look down. Starboard.”

Searls looked. There, so small and distant Searls was afraid to blink because then the ship would be gone, a tiny speck plummeted, trailing a plume of dense, charcoal - colored smoke. And then Searls supposed there must be a god because, in the next second, as the full horror of what had happened broke against his mind, the clouds swallowed up the speck, and Tadahisa Martin was gone.

He couldn’t think anymore, not now. But much, much later Searls would float an idea: that the Snow Ravens didn’t give two shits about the Draconis Combine. Snow Ravens took; Snow Ravens destroyed; Snow Ravens conquered. Snow Ravens did not make like no - seeums on a buggy summer’s evening, teasing mercenary units into full - scale screwups.

The Snow Ravens were up to something, sure, but it wasn’t about Stapelfeld, or the Draconis Combine. It was much larger than that. But Searls had a little problem: no evidence.

Something else would happen, too. A flight mishap investigatory board would convene. Searls would be cleared of negligence but only after countless repetitions of the disaster captured by a Razan’s Ronin’s satellite; and each time he saw the replay, something would rip in Searls’ heart.

But that would be then . . . and this was now and, for now, Searls, ‘Lucky Goose’, ‘Diamond’ and ‘Maverick’ turned. And they went Back to dock at the RF MacCreary.

Word Count 3523

NPC
Name: Keevhan Searls
Callsign: ‘Sidewinder’
Rank: Chu - i (Lieutenant)
Hardware: Transgressor TR – 13A
Battalion: Wakayama Aero Assault
Wing: Ice Dragon
Squadron: Daiku
Flight: Black Raven
Assignment: DropShip Escort
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE

Name: Torii Nashiro
Callsign: ‘Nemesis’
Rank: Tai - i (Captain)
Hardware: Koroshiya KOS – 1A
Battalion: Wakayama Aero Assault
Wing: Ice Dragon
Squadron: Hankyu
Flight: Dragon
Assignment: Air Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE







DC-DR-06-02 #05

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Elmshorn
Travis
AirPort
Friday July 3rd 3096 1000 hours Local

Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka ‘Iceman’ Kintaro’s bones vibrated to the howls of the generators braking the Special Operations Aurora - Class DropShip to a soft landing in the auxiliary military converted airport of the world the DCMS planners called Stapelfeld. The AsTechs hadn’t bothered to jury - rig displays after they gutted the ship’s hold for the assault force. If the Razan’s Ronins BA marines of Draconis Elite Strike Battalion wanted, they could tap visuals from the flight deck onto their individual BA helmet visors and look at the warped - looking Snow Raven Solahma Troops structures they would attack in the next few seconds.

Kintaro didn’t bother to watch. Instead he rechecked his underslung Anti - 'Mech Small Pulse Laser Cannon. He toted crossed bandoliers of power packs and dangling short range missiles reloads from his load bearing, combat webbing; a medical kit; two supplementary communication units; two knives . . . one of them powered vibro knife, the other with a shorter fixed blade that could double as a climbing spike; and a packet of emergency rations. The integral canteen of Kintaro’s back - and - breast armor held two quarts of water, but he carried an additional three gallons in a backpack. The weight slowed him down and made his armor sag brutally against his shoulders, but the cost was worth it to him.

When you’re pinned down in the hot sun, thirst is the worst torture. Worse than the ripping pain of your wound, worse even than the stench of your friend’s half - burned corpse on the ground beside you. A veteran of several conflicts, ‘Iceman’ Kintaro knew that.

The DropShip quivered, still twenty feet above the ground though she was nearly in equilibrium with the field her thrusters had induced on the ferro crete on which she was landing. “Wait for it!” ordered Tai-i (Captain) Ka Cheong 'Ghost' Chan, DEST Battalion’s executive officer, over the command channel.

Ka Cheong Chan was following standard operating procedure, but on this mission there wasn’t any risk that a BA Marine would unass early. Normally DEST inserted aboard the purpose - configured landing vessel. The hatches opened minutes before contact. For Operation Cold Saber, camouflage, rather than speed was the requirement. At touchdown, the flight crew would blow explosive bolts to separate the outer bulkheads from the skeleton of support members, but until then the troop Transport’s hold was sealed like a prison cell.

“Hey, I think I changed my mind,” a BA Marine called over the ship noises. There was brittle laughter.

Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Chano ‘Frenchy’ Fuqua stood solidly at Kintaro’s shoulder as he always did during an insertion. On the DEST’s table of organization, Fuqua was a communications specialist. In reality he was Kintaro’s bodyguard, a huge, strong man who carried a single - shot plasma cannon in addition to his other weapons and equipment.

“I wanna be a Razan’s Ronins ranger . . .” sang Go-chu (Corporal) Shamara Taegert, a Heavy & Assault BA Platoon BA Marine. “I wanna live a life of danger . . .”

The DropShip sank the last few feet like a leaking bladder. ‘Wait for it’, Kintaro mouthed, but no sound passed his dry lips.

A locator chart overlaid the upper left quadrant of Kintaro’s visor: seventy eight green dots, each one a BA Marine. They were crammed too closely together at the moment for him to count them individually. Every one was a veteran: not only of combat, but veterans of the Draconis Elite Strike Team itself.

Razan’s Ronins companies were prefixed 0, 1, or 2 depending on their creation date. The DEST Battalion was not the longest standing unit of the Razan’s Ronins but it was damned sure the best unit in the Regiment. The DEST Battalion had received thirteen replacements since the last operation, and Kintaro decided to bring them along on a mission as rough as Operation Cold Saber looked like being. The replacements were good people or they wouldn’t have passed Razan’s Ronins screening after they volunteered, however they hadn’t worked under his command before. There was no margin here for somebody who misunderstood an order or reacted in an unexpected way.

Clan Snow Raven had a civilian colony of ten thousand on Stapelfeld in addition to the logistics bases that served their military on fourteen worlds. There was no margin at all for error when the DEST Battalion seized the planet’s auxiliary airport ahead of the full - scale Razan’s Ronins diversion.

The tripod landing legs of the Aurora Class DropShip touched the ground in sequence. The DropShip rang in three descending notes. “Go! Go! Go!” Kintaro shouted, unheard over the clang of the bolts shearing off and falling to the tarmac. He and a dozen other BA Marines shoved at the toppling bulkhead.

They’d landed a few hours before local noon. Sunlight quivered through heat waves from the airport’s white ferro crete surface. ECM missiles launched in snarling cacophony from the DropShip’s turret mounted long range missile launcher, homing in on every operating radio - frequency antenna within their eight hundred meter range.

Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka Kintaro hit the ground running, headed for the port administration building with his headquarters Kage group and two squads from the Light & Medium BA Platoon. The DEST Battalion had begun the first diversion.

The rest of the Razan’s Ronins Regiment had better follow soon.

………………..

The pair of Snow Raven Solahma Troopers in the cab of the maintenance vehicle ogled to see the recently - landed DropShip fall apart as they drove past. Chu-i (Lieutenant) Guy 'Templar' Dalton, from the Steele Dagger Special Ops Point, killed them both with a single burst from his anti - Mech Medium Laser before he jumped to the ground.

“Special Ops, to the truck!” Dalton shouted. Most of his squad was already running toward the eight - wheeled vehicle. It slowed but still coasted forward after the driver died in a spray of coppery blood. Go-chu (Corporal) Shamara Taegert and Heishi (Private) Ray Mawby leaped aboard, flinging the dead Solahma Troopers out of the way. Shamara managed to turn the vehicle before it plunged into an open sump, but she couldn’t seem to find the brakes.

One of the Solahma Troopers hung out the open door. Dalton kicked the body the rest of the way to the ground as he climbed into the cab beside Ray Mawby. The other four BA Marines of Special Ops Squad, Heavy & Assault BA Platoon; clambered onto the back of the vehicle, shooting at any visible Solahma Troopers to keep the enemy off balance.

Shamara goosed the throttle. She steered east and accelerated without needing orders.

The truck was a godsend if you believed in God, which Dalton more or less did. The Special Operations flight crew had landed the Aurora - Class DropShip on the runway nearest the airport’s northwest corner according to plan. Dalton could see the sense of that, since the airport garrison’s compound and the administration building were immediately north of the site and the transient military barracks were adjacent on the west.

The trouble was the BA Special Ops’ objective, the huge maintenance hangar along the east edge of the field, was almost four hundred yards from the DropShip. That was a hell of a long way to run across bare ferro crete with a combat load, even with their powered Battle Armor Suits. By the time the exhausted BA Marines got to the hangar, the Solahma Troopers would have had time to organize a response.

They were responding already. A hundred - foot - wide segment of hangar door had been open when the DEST Battalion had appeared. It was closing now, rolling down from the building’s roof. “Don’t stop!” Dalton said, not that there was any likelihood Shamara had planned to.

Dalton hooked his left arm around the frame of the shattered windshield and sprayed a crackling burst from his Medium Laser Cannon across the shadowed figures moving within the hangar. Two of them were instantly incinerated and left a pile of ash on the ground; one sprang up again and limped out of sight behind his fellows.

The anti - ‘Mech Laser’s coils accelerated coherent light to 10,000 degrees to cut through ‘Mech grade armor. The beam wasn’t effective beyond 270 meters, but the BA Marines carried SRM’s to handle the occasional distant target. Their Steele Dagger armor’s anti - ‘Mech Medium Laser Cannons had the impact of a phosphorous grenade on a target at short range. With thousand - round power packs containing a fresh power supply, they were the weapon of choice for the sudden assaults in which the Draconis Elite Strike Team specialized.

The truck had a three - man cab, but the three weren’t supposed to be in full battle armor. The Snow Ravens were long - limbed, pale - skinned race. From a distance the men appeared hairless, but if you looked closely you saw that their heads were covered with fine buzz cut.

The Snow Ravens were on average taller, more muscled and significantly quicker than Spheriods. Because Snow Raven Solahma Troopers were stronger, their troops carried heavier, more - powerful weapon loads. A BA Marine learned fast, though, that if you missed your first shot the Solahma Troopers were going to get in the second one.

Shamara Taegert had the truck up to forty miles an hour. Immediately ahead the hangar door closed with a rattle; that Dalton hoped meant it was fairly flimsy. “Hang on, boys!” he said into his comm set as he pulled himself into the cab and crossed his arms over his face shield. “The party’s about to start!”

They hit the quivering door with a crash louder than the battle going on all over the airport.

. . .



Each of the two 20 - round magazines of the Thumper reloads weighed a hair over a ton each, and there was the weight of the air - cushion dolly besides. Kishi Armored Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Joy ‘Poison Ivy’ Winn liked to tell herself she was as tough as any man in the DEST Battalion, but right at the moment she was glad Go-chu (Corporal) Boris and Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Takei ‘Turbo’ Oka, the other loader, had paused to lift her dolly from the hold instead of leaving her to struggle with it alone. Joy could keep moving despite the heat and constriction of her Kishi armor as long as anybody, sure; but hefting a full power dolly was largely a matter of mass and peak strength in spite of the additional lifting capacity provided by the battle armor suit.

Anti - ’Mech Grade Lasers and the SRM most BA Marines slung from their belts already raked the port area. DEST Platoon Bravo (Infiltration Platoon) was the last out of the DropShip. With their Nighthawk PA(L) armor and manually pushing the LMTTs and Gun trailers they’d have needlessly slowed the less heavily equipped BA Marines down.

There was no return fire as yet but it’d come soon enough. When it did, the Nighthawk platoon would be damned glad for the long range missile LMTT and the Thumper and Mjolnir Gun Trailers.

Gunsho (Sergeant) Natasha was a svelte woman but looked gigantic in her polished urban camo Kishi armor. She was helping to position the Thumper Gun Trailer itself and a twenty - round cartridge of ready munitions. Twenty yards to the northeast was a pit holding a transformer beneath surface level where it didn’t interfere with DropShips being hauled across the airport in giant cradles. Natasha hunched toward it at a dead run. The pit was the best cover in her sector.

All DEST Platoon Bravo personnel wore Nighthawk PA(L) armor. The Nighthawk crews handling the trailered support weapons had to worry about the back blast of their own heavy armaments, and a mist of ions as hot as a sun’s corona bathed the cannoneers as soon as they began to fire their magazine - fed weapons. The armor’s protection from enemy counter fire was a secondary concern.

Joy Winn heard the high - pitched scream of Solahma Troopers Mauser IIC Laser Rifles in addition to the snarl of Laser Cannons and the crack ‘WHAM!’ of the BA Marines’ missiles. The port’s surface flared white at the corner of her eye as a beam burned concrete to glass and quicklime. The Snow Raven Solahma Troopers were returning fire, though for the moment they seemed to be spraying the landscape without aiming as they were still disoriented.

Natasha stepped into the waist - high transformer pit and wrestled the Thumper’s support stanchions down and into a firing position. Oka simply pushed the power dolly in ahead of himself. The Inferno round magazines were padded against shock, but a direct hit from a laser might penetrate. The best result the crew could hope for then was a low - order explosion that might not kill them. If the bead of deuterium at the heart of each cartridge detonated, Kishi armor wasn’t going to make a hill of beans worth of difference to the resulting thermonuclear explosion.

The Aurora - Class DropShip belched smoke and another sheaf of EMC missiles. Those were launched automatically when the unit’s artificial intelligence sensed Snow Ravens - type radio frequency emissions. The streak of light that ended in a lightning - sharp explosion in the transient barracks was a missile from the DEST Platoon Bravo’s LRM LMTT launcher. That was fast work, but the team had set up beside the DropShip because there wasn’t any cover in their direction anyway.

Joy jumped her dolly into the transformer pit and followed it. Natasha fired the Mjolnir’s ready ammunition in four ravening barrages as fast as the gun would cycle. The ringing air glowed like the heart of a rainbow.

“Feed me!” the Gunsho (Sergeant) screamed as Oka dragged a 4 - round magazine from one of his ammo dolley. “Feed me!”

As she opened a dolly one - handed, Joy looked over the rim of the pit. She dialed up her Battle armor visor’s magnification. The gun was placed to cover the main highway entering the airport from the north. Seven klicks up that road was the planet’s second largest military base, code - named Travis for this operation. That was probably where the 20 ton Odin Scout Tank at which Natasha was hammering had come from.

The heavy nickel ferrous Gauss rounds had grounded the light vehicle in an iridescent fireball, but they hadn’t destroyed it. Air shimmered in a corona discharge as the tank’s generators rebuilt its Blue Shield Particle Field Dampener.

The Solahma Troopers were responding, all right.

. . .


The front door of the guard barracks started to open while Go-chu (Corporal) Hyung-on ‘Shooter’ Fukui was still twenty yards from the building. He fired one of his penetrator grenades through the panel. An instant later the warhead’s atomized fuel mixed with the air and detonated, blowing splinters of the door in one direction and the charred fragments of Solahma Troopers in the other.

Fukui liked to be on point. In this war the choice was to be quick or dead, and the Solahma Troopers were plenty damn quick. Your best chance of survival was the Solahma Troopers’ hesitation due to their age, but if YOU hesitated you were handing them your head as well as maybe the heads of the BA Marines behind you. Technically the building’s ground floor wasn’t Fukui’s responsibility, but this wasn’t a time to stand on ceremony.

Fukui trusted himself not to hesitate. Never. Not so much as a heartbeat.

Howling Dragon Lance’s objective was to clear the airport garrison’s three - story barracks. Command had nixed putting a LRM missile into the structure because the port command center might be either in the barracks or in the administration building.

The command center would be hardened. Burying it in the rubble of the upper floors wouldn’t keep the Solahma Troopers in the center from using their outlying calliope turrets and missile positions to blow the hell out of, first the DEST Battalion, then any Razan’s Ronins vessel that appeared on this hemisphere of the planet.

Fukui and Gunsho (Sergeant) Ralph 'Stack’ Ibrahim were DEST’s scouts from Howling Dragon Lance’s Recon Company sporting Grey Death Scout battle armor. They’d been assigned to lead the two squads of the lance’s understrength roster through the top floor of the barracks while the remainder of the lance, twin Pandions, took care of the lower stories. If there was a control room in the basement, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Tonya ‘Archangel’ Everleigh wanted to be able to open it without worrying about Solahma Troopers coming down the stairs behind her.

At the base of the wall Fukui armed his Grey Death’s jump jets. He paused and bent over when he heard the roaring ignition of the LMTT Support Weapons’ long range missiles. An instant later the transient compound to Fukui’s left disintegrated in a green flash and a thunderclap.

The missile warheads pulsed electricity through an osmium wire whose resistance blew it apart with enormous force. Batteries stored energy more efficiently than chemical high explosives. The bursting wire propagated shockwaves at several times the rate of High Explosives, giving the warheads great shattering force. The blast slapped Fukui hard, but it didn’t send him tumbling as it would have done had it hit him while he was airborne on his armor’s jump jets.

Fukui looked up the barrack’s facade, then triggered his jets. The four self - stabilizing nozzles lifted him vertically at a controllable ten feet per second. He hovered beside the window he’d chosen for entry and fired a penetrator through the pane. The projectiles were fused to burst a tenth of a second after impact and spray their filling into the space beyond.

The blast blew the remainder of the pane . . . clear thermoplastic rather than glass . . . out past Fukui in a gulp of red flame. He pulled himself through the opening and unlatched his jump booster with his left hand armored glove as soon as he was into the smoldering corridor beyond. The booster still had another thirty seconds or so of fuel, but the weight was more of a hindrance than any possible gain it could offer the BA Marine now. The ground wasn’t so far away that Fukui couldn’t jump down with his integral jump jets without serious concern to his battle armor.

The bodies in the hallway looked like charred logs. The explosion had destroyed the light fixtures and filled the air with swirling hot smoke. The face shield of the BA Marine’s Grey Death helmet offered light enhancement and thermal imaging as viewing options, but neither would have helped a great deal under these conditions.

Fukui didn’t bother. He had four rounds left in the magazine of his short - barreled grenade launcher. He ran down the hall, firing one round into each room as he passed. Because the fuse required impact to arm it, Fukui shot through to the wall if the door was already open. He had to hope that the internal partitions would be thin enough for the grenade to penetrate.

Fukui compensated reflexively when explosions rocked him from side to side. He wasn’t thinking or seeing as a human does. He’d programmed himself like a machine to accomplish a particular task as fast as possible.

“Coming through!” Ibrahim shouted. The hall darkened as the Gunsho (Sergeant)’s armored body filled the window sash.

Fukui crouched against the wall as he reloaded. The launcher wasn’t a weapon he particularly liked, but he’d spent the voyage out practicing with it until he could perform all the necessary operations instinctively. It was hard to breathe. His Grey Death armor filtered toxins, but the fuel - air grenades had used up a lot of the available oxygen.

There were three rooms left on the corridor. The Solahma Troopers in them could have used the pause to ready their own weapons, but there was no time to worry about that now. Just time to act.

Fukui straightened. Ibrahim’s KA – 23 Subgun rasped behind him as the Gunsho (Sergeant) shot a body that was still twitching after the grenade went off.

Fukui lunged forward, firing three times in a single flowing motion. Between the first shot and the second he heard Ibrahim scream, “Cease fire! Cease . . . ”

But the words didn’t penetrate until Hyung-on Fukui had completed his mission.

“ . . . fire! They’re not soldiers, they’re civilian prisoners!”

Word Count 3460

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage Light BA (DEST)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Platoon: DEST Platoon Alpha
Squad: 1st
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

User avatar
Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:22 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #06

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Elmshorn
Travis
AirPort
Friday July 3rd 3096 1005 hours Local

Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Joy Winn’s Kishi helmet highlighted movement on the panorama display at the lower edge of her visor. Three Solahma Troopers were running toward the rear of the gun position.

She turned, bouncing her armored hip against the transformer as she raised her Heavy Machine Gun. Her burst went wildly high. The Solahma Troopers dropped into a sunken track twenty meters from the transformer pit. It held one of the cogged tramlines that spider webbed the port to haul DropShips around after landing.

Joy should have been watching the south. The cataclysmic destruction of the tank had drawn her attention three klicks down the road in the wrong direction. She didn’t know where the Solahma Troopers had come from . . .

Two more Snow Raven Solahma Troopers ran from the underside of a DropShip a hundred yards away. They weren’t wearing uniforms, but one had a Mauser IIC Laser Rifle, and the bag the other carried probably wasn’t full of apples. Their long legs covered ground as fast as a shadow spreads when the sun goes behind a cloud.

Joy incinerated the leader with the satchel. The second Solahma Infantryman fired as he ran, but his laser burned up chunks of ferro crete nearer his own feet than his target. Joy sighted and sawed the muscled body nearly in half. The Solahma Infantryman’s corpse hit face down, but his toes pointed in the air.

A long range missile lit, blasted from its launcher, and banked in a screaming turn that took it southward out of the port area. Joy could see the target only as a series of dots low in the distant sky. A dot and the missile’s tracking flare merged. A flash that grew into a fireball filled several degrees of horizon.

The target was probably a personnel carrier, armored against small - arms fire but still light enough . . . unlike the multi - ton tanks . . . to hover. All the dots vanished. Only one had been destroyed, but the others would have to slow down and hug the ground during the remainder of their approach to the battle.

The Kishi visor would magnify by up to a twenty times, but Joy needed as broad a range of vision as possible to do her own job. She’d almost gotten herself and the rest of the squad killed by looking in the wrong direction.

A Solahma Infantryman threw a grenade out of the tramline. It landed short and went off in a yellow flash. The shock buffeted Joy; a few fragments cracked against her armor. She fired at the top of the trench, blasting powdered ferro crete from both sides without harming the Solahma Troopers below. One of them popped up ten meters from where Joy was aiming and fired his laser rifle. If he hadn’t been more concerned to duck back to safety than to aim, he’d have burned her head off.

Joy swung her Heavy Machine Gun and shot holes in the air. Two more grenades sailed from separate points along the tramline. The grenadiers weren’t showing more than a hand and wrist for a fraction of a second. One grenade landed wide, but the other bounced toward the lip of the transformer pit.

“Down!” Joy screamed to the gun crew as she hunched low. Fragments of casing and ferro crete flew in all directions.

The Thumper stopped in mid - burst when the grenade exploded. Gunsho (Sergeant) Natasha 'Sha-sha' Stetson bellowed a curse over her Kishi armor’s external speakers. One of the gun trailer’s stanchion support legs had been blown off. Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Takei Oka stuck his left armored forearm under the gun barrel to support it.

A second tank, starkly terrible in the glow of ions from bolts which its dampener had shrugged off, glided around the wreckage of its sister vehicle.

Joy jumped out of the transformer pit and sprinted toward the tramline. Sooner or later the Solahma Troopers were going to throw a grenade into the pit. If the blast didn’t kill the BA Marines outright, it would stun them for the fellow with the laser to finish them off.

She was ten meters from the tramline when a grenadier raised himself to throw. He saw Joy’s armored figure stumping toward him and dived back with a shout of alarm. The Solahma Infantryman with the Mauser laser rifle rose an instant later. Joy was standing almost on top of him. At this range, her Heavy Machine Gun blew him inside out into small bloody pieces.

Without lifting her finger from the trigger, Joy hosed the two grenadiers cowering against the cogged track. Sparks, ferro crete dust, and bits of flesh sprayed from where the stream of .60 caliber shells hit.

Joy turned toward the transformer pit. The Thumper was firing again. Only a series of Thumper rounds in rapid succession could hammer through a tank’s Particle Field Dampener. The tank halted as its fusion power plant shunted all available power from the lift fans to the shield. It wasn’t enough. A moment later Natasha’s sixth Thumper Inferno round of thermonuclear energy hit the tank itself.

The shockwave spalled the inner face of the armor across the fighting compartment. The Snow Ravens’ crew were all dead before the next round ruptured the power plant’s containment bottle in a greater secondary explosion.

Joy hadn’t noticed her Kishi armor’s weight and chafing when she charged the Solahma Troopers position. Now she felt drained and dizzy. She sucked at the teat supplying water from the integral canteen as she took a second step toward the pit.

A black spot flecked the sky at the corner of her eye. Joy threw herself to the ground. She was still falling when the missile launched from a calliope turret plunged into the transformer pit.

The ferro crete rippled, slamming Joy in the chest. She flipped onto her back like a pancake. The walls of the pit channeled the blast and fragments skyward, but the Mjolnir Gun Trailer, the gun crew, and the transformer itself vanished utterly in a white flash.

Where the hell was the rest of the Razan’s Ronins invasion force?

. . .



The steps to the admin building’s second floor were individually taller and more shallow than those of typical structures. The Solahma Troopers running down them hooting had no trouble until Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Chano Fuqua ripped their army tunics to bloody shreds an instant before Kintaro got his Small Pulse Laser Cannon on target.

A BA Marine with smoke still curling from the nozzles of her jump jets appeared at the top of the stairs. She shot the Solahma Infantryman again as he toppled forward.

The floor plan of the port administration building was almost circular: almost, because of Snow Raven’s distaste for right angles and constant - radius curves. The ground floor was a bullpen with office cubbies around the outer walls and an open concourse in the center.

Kintaro didn’t suppose there could be a design that would have provided a better kill zone for the volley of grenades and short range missiles his BA Marines sent through the clear facade of the building as they charged. There’d been twenty - some odd Solahma Troopers present, but only one or two had survived long enough to be killed by Laser Cannon beams. The upper story must be broken into smaller spaces.

BA Marines now crouched at the side windows and the door to the parking lot behind the building. Kintaro’s Kage’s visor overlaid images from the battle armors of a guard from each quadrant. The ghost viewpoints were each an eighth - field 30 percent mask across the top. They interfered to a degree with Kintaro’s normal vision, but he was used to operating that way. He had to keep track of everything that was happening or else he’d get his people killed.

The breaching charge went off in the armored stairwell opposite the main doors. The electrically - generated pulse sounded like DropShips colliding: sharp, metallic, and immensely loud.

The well channeled the back blast upward to tear a ten - foot hole in the bullpen’s ceiling. Kintaro hoped none of the squad clearing the second floor had been standing in the wrong place. A BA Marine with a grenade launcher chugged his entire magazine through the opened door at the bottom of the stairs.

The stairwell belched red flame. Two BA Marines went in with their Laser Cannons pointed. Snow Ravens Solahma didn’t carry the weight of armor sturdy enough to survive the grenade blasts, they WANTED to die in combat, but it was possible that the first door opened onto an anteroom and the real control room was still sealed.

Kintaro instinctively started to follow his troops; Fuqua blocked him without hesitation. ‘Iceman’ was a big man at six foot four, two hundred pounds. Fuqua was bigger and even stronger.

Fuqua’s job was to keep the Sho-sa (Major) alive. When that meant stopping Kintaro from doing something stupid, Fuqua did whatever had to be done.

Sho-ka (Command Sergeant) Cinderella 'Mocasin' Krall carried a jamming rig instead of extra weapons. While shooting was still going on, she’d attached the jammer to an antenna lead from one of the building’s wrecked consoles. An ECM missile had cut the roof mast while the DEST had unassed, but the stump was sufficient for Cinderella’s purposes.

She glanced up from her display and caught Kintaro’s eyes on her. “The AirPort’s aerial defenses shut down when we blew the vault,” she said, shouting over the racket instead of using the battle armor’s commo to speak to Kintaro ten meters away. “The missile batteries at the military base are live, though, and the base has links to the sensors here. There’s nothing I can do about that.”

“We’ve got support coming,” Kintaro said, wondering how many of his people were going to die before that support arrived. “They may be hitting Travis’ military base already.”

There were in the order of 1,000 Snow Raven troops quartered at Travis. The sprawling base was targeted for massive strikes: initially from orbit, followed by dedicated air to ground - attack vessels making low - level passes. The crucial low - level phase couldn’t begin until the Snow Raven’s aerial defenses had been knocked out.

It would take the Solahma Troopers hours, maybe days, to bypass the control net centered on the vault Kintaro’s BA Marines had just opened and destroyed. The missile artillery at the Travis military installation could pulverize DEST, though.

The jammer provided a partial defense. Terminal guidance made artillery accurate to within ten meters. If the missile depended on data loaded into it before launch, accuracy dropped to a Circular Error Probability of sixty - five meters.

The Aurora DropShip erupted when half a dozen Solahma Troopers heavy rounds hit it in rapid succession. The airport and military base had been designed and built as a mutually - supporting pair. Buried cables linked sensors in the port area to consoles at the military installation, allowing the Snow Raven gunners to refine their targeting with sensor data. While the result wasn’t as good as terminal guidance, it was good enough for targets the size of a DropShip.

Pretty quick it would dawn on the Solahma Troopers they could now shell the port administration building off the map without harming any of their own people.

“The building’s secured, sir,” reported Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Mya 'Barbie' Vu, the commanding officer of Ronin’s Heavy & Assault BA Platoon. “Shall I shift a squad across to help Dalton?”

Five long range missiles slammed from their launcher, supersonic within the first twenty meters of flight. The missiles screamed downrange.

The DEST’s Thumper cannon was firing also. One of Kintaro’s overlaid remote images showed a huge explosion in the distance along the highway. The shockwave reached him in two pulses, through the ground and an instant later in the air. Fuqua, restive as he looked across the concourse and out the back door, unslung his single - shot plasma weapon. Another Snow Raven tank was maneuvering past the mushrooming tombstone of the first.

“No, withdraw both squads to the warehouses,” Kintaro ordered. “Dalton has to take his chances. Nobody’s going to make it across that bare ferro crete till the regiment takes care of that military installation.”

Kintaro turned. “Cinderella,” he said, “leave the jammer set up, but we got to get out of here. The . . . ”
Kintaro’s Kage visor flashed red, indicating a signal from orbital command. One of his supplementary commo units was a dedicated link to the flagship.

“Razan’s Ronins Actual to DEST Actual, this is Onishi,” an emotionless voice said. “The operation has been aborted. A large Snow Ravens Snow 5th Raven Wing Cluster Aerospace Trinary is hampering our approach to the planet. Can you extract your unit yourself? Over.”

“Onishi, hell no!” Kintaro said. At the corner of his eye he saw another missile hit the remains of the DropShip. “Onishi, for Christ sake, get us a strike on Travis. They’ve got the AirPort observed. They’re chewing us up and you won’t be able to get a VTOL in or out. Over!”

“DEST Actual, Negative,” the voice said. Kintaro wondered if it was an AI program speaking. No, a computerized voice would have more feeling. This was a human officer who wasn’t going to let emotional loading get in the way of precise communication. “If possible, withdraw your unit to a site out of Snow Ravens observation zone and await pickup. Onishi out.”

Out was the operative word. The DEST Battalion was shit out of luck.

One of the BA Marines who entered the barracks behind Go-chu (Corporal) Hyung-on Fukui had clamped a line to the sash for them to leave by. It was about the only useful thing anybody in the first Grey Death Squad had accomplished during the operation.

Fukui rappelled down the side of the building. First in, last out. The grenade launcher slapped against his breastplate each time he braked with his armored gloved palms. The weapon was heavy. He’d locked in a fresh magazine to replace the one from which he’d fired three rounds.

His boots hit the ground. The DropShip that brought the DEST Battalion in, was a shattered wreck, the upper half molten. Another missile hit the derelict, lifting a mighty fireball. The Solahma Troopers used chemical explosives. The general level of noise was so high that the blast didn’t sound particularly loud.

Fukui glanced up the way he’d come. Flames wavered sluggishly from several of the third - floor windows. The fuel - air bombs had ignited fabrics, paper, splintered furniture. Solahma Troopers didn’t have long hair to burn, not really, but the explosions had charred the victims’ flesh deeply.

There’d been a lot of them on the top floor of the barracks. Over a hundred, Fukui figured, judging from the one room he’d taken a good look into after Gunsho (Sergeant) Ralph 'Stack' Ibrahim shouted at him.

Snow Raven females were shorter and even as well muscled as the males, and they were members of the fighting forces, too. Some of the Civilian burned corpses were females but most were children. Maybe dependents, maybe overflow from civilian facilities on the south side of the field. Certainly not combatants. But certainly dead.

And very certainly killed by Hyung-on Fukui. He’d completed the job before anybody else arrived. Nothing wrong with his reflexes, no sir.

He ran past the shattered transient compound, following Ibrahim. A Solahma Infantryman’s missile hit twenty meters away and blew a hole in bare ferro crete. Again a red fireball pulsed upward through sooty black smoke. The air zinged, but none of the fragments hit Fukui.

If a missile went off at his feet, it might burn his shattered armor as black as that of the civilians on the threshold of the room Fukui had looked into.

. . .


The good news was that the hangar door ruptured when the truck hit it. Stiffeners sang like guitar strings, parting the welds that anchored them to the edges of the track.

Go-chu (Corporal) Shamara Taegert skidded on all eight wheels as she braked. There was nothing to hit in the left bay except bodies and whatever gear the Clan Snow Raven repair staff had dropped when the BA Marines drove into them shooting.

Chu-i (Lieutenant) Guy ‘Templar’ Dalton’s battle armor’s visor reacted automatically to the lower light levels within the structure. He pointed his Medium Laser toward a group of Solahma Troopers trying to get behind a large tool cart and held the trigger down. The fishtailing truck ripped the stream of beams across the Solahma Troopers and they all disintegrated.

The bad news was that a Snow Raven Vampire - Class DropShip filled the hangar’s central bay.

This was a land - force logistics base, not a fleet repair facility. There weren’t supposed to be naval vessels present, not even relatively small ones with their Donovan XVIII power plant lifted half out of the cylindrical hull on a gantry. Solahma Troopers swarmed up the ramped hatchway. Mostly they were maintenance staffers clothed in motley blues and grays, but a few were mauve - uniformed naval personnel.

An officer with a tuft of black feathers on either epaulet fired a laser pistol at Dalton. The Solahma Infantryman blew two divots from the truck’s door before Dalton flash cooked him. Heishi (Private) Ray Mawby leaned through the shattered windshield and fired a trio of missiles from his three pack missile launcher into the Vampire’s airlock, shredding the officer’s ashes and a half dozen other Snow Ravens. Shamara Taegert had dove from the truck, so the back blast didn’t fry her.

The hatch rotated closed. The edge mated solidly with the coaming despite the fact that a Solahma Infantryman’s arm lay across it.

Dalton jumped. There’d been nearly a hundred Solahma Troopers in the hangar when the heavily - armed BA Marines entered. Now, seconds later, the only Snow Ravens still visible and moving were those who thrashed in their death throes.

Some Solahma Troopers hid beyond the Vampire or behind pieces of equipment, but they weren’t an immediate concern. The ones still alive aboard the vessel were a real threat.

The Vampire’s armory probably held enough small arms to outgun all the BA Marines in their DEST Battalion, but even that was a secondary danger. If the crew got the ship’s main battery in operation, it was Katy bar the door for the whole operation.

“Fire control!” Dalton said. The code phrase keyed his words to Tai-i (Captain) Duane Johnson of the Nighthawk Platoon. “Give me a support strike soonest, mark!”

He focused his eyes on the DropShip’s closed airlock and blinked twice. That highlighted the image his helmet was transmitting to Johnson and . . . Dalton prayed . . . to the Gunsho (Sergeant) of one of the support weapons batteries. “Break, Special Ops personnel take cover! Out.”

By this time all three support weapons batteries might have exhausted their ammo or been destroyed by Solahma Troopers counter fire. If there was a round left, Dalton couldn’t be sure it would bear on the target. At such short range the Thumper didn’t have much room to maneuver between launch and impact.

The one certain thing was that Special Ops would get the support if it was possible. There wasn’t a more important target on the base. Nobody’d dreamed there was going to be a 400 ton DropShip in the hangar. Intel might have scrubbed the whole operation if they’d known.

Dalton threw himself on the hangar floor and tugged a SRM reload from his bandolier. He twisted the base cap to extend it and arm the missile. A short range missile was unlikely to do serious harm to a DropShip’s hull, but unless Johnson came through they were the best Special Ops had to go on.

A BA Marine threw a fragmentation grenade into the cab of the travelling hoist above her. The sharp blast flung the operator out in a shower of glass. Both fragmentation and incendiary grenades had specific advantages. Fragmentation offered dense shrapnel and higher peak impulse, but incendiary provided a fuel - air burning effect and greater total impulse.

Dalton had heard arguments on the subject go on for hours, but the truth of it was that the choice was personal whim. PBI’s like to claim that their decisions are in some objective sense “right,” but they know in their hearts of hearts that they’ll probably die for no better reason than that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“Special Ops,” the squad channel warned in a voice that wasn’t Johnson’s. “Incoming!”

The five BA Marines within the huge hangar crouched in the best shelter they could find. Over the general chaos, Dalton heard the unmistakable whistling of an incoming artillery round.

The hangar’s central door burst inward from the supersonic shockwave and the two salvos of Copperhead Shells that detonated against the Vampire’s airlock. The hangar roof billowed up from the joists. Sheared rivets rained onto the floor.

The arty team had set the fusing circuit for point blank focus because the DropShip’s hull was too thick to be pierced by an omnidirectional blast. The HE round ruptured a cone of wire, forming the electrical equivalent of a chemical shaped charge. The shockwave forged a thin disk of uranium into a molten spear that struck like an asteroid.

The Vampire rocked on its landing struts. The heavy - metal spike blew a hole big enough to pass a fully - equipped BA Marine through the center of the hatch. The blast skidded Dalton three meters backward on the smooth floor, and his ears rang despite the cancellation pulse his Steele Dagger’s helmet produced to save his hearing. He scrambled to his feet and ran for the opening, clasping the missile in his left hand and the Medium Laser underslung on his right vambrace with the butt plate against his armored hip.

It didn’t occur to Guy Dalton to order his BA Marines to follow him. It wouldn’t have occurred to them to do anything else. If they hadn’t been that sort of people, they wouldn’t have been in the Razan’s Ronin’s DEST outfit.

Two BA Marines fired missiles through the opening before they charged. Mawby threw in a fuel - air grenade. That was useful for the purpose of clearing defenders from the corridors nearest the hatch, but the airlock focused the thumping explosion and knocked Dalton flat on his armored ass. By the time he got up, Shamara Taegert was into the ship ahead of him.

Dalton was on her heels, though he had to shove Corporal Matthew Sinclair aside. Rank hath its privileges. At a mental level pretty well buried for the moment, Dalton was afraid to die; but he was more afraid that his squad wouldn’t follow him the next time if they had the least doubt that he was willing to lead from the front.

The airlock’s inner valve had been half open before most of the outer door hit it and tore it off its hinges. Shamara was left - handed so she turned right down the smoky corridor. Dalton went left, sternward.

Although the Snow Ravens had pulled the main power plant, the Vampire’s internal lighting was on. There must be an auxiliary power unit somewhere. If the lights worked, so would the guns and missile launchers.

Dalton swept the corridor with his Laser Cannon for the second and a half it took to dispel the charge, then fired the SRM three rack on his left shoulder. He didn’t have a target . . . any target, though bodies writhing on the deck . . . but he needed his hand free to reload the Laser Cannon. Launching the missiles was faster than throwing them away.

As Dalton knelt, Cunsho (Sergeant) Serita Rangosch stepped by him and hurled a grenade into a weapons bay. A Solahma Infantryman jumped from behind the control console and shot the BA Marine in her armored visor. The grenade detonated, blowing and shredding the Solahma Infantryman against the ceiling.

Dalton tugged a fragmentation grenade off his belt left handed and threw it into the compartment’s opposite bay. A Solahma Infantryman hopped up from that console also. Dalton and Mawby shot him together. As the body fell back, Mawby tossed a fuel - air grenade on top of it.

When the bomb blew, the two BA Marines ran to the last compartment sternward. Neither man sent a grenade ahead to warn the Solahma Troopers they were coming. They’d worked together so often in similar situations that they coordinated without overt signals.

The Snow Ravens repair crew had removed the compartment’s upper plating in order to lift out the power plant. A sailor was trying to climb out of the ship through the large opening. Mawby incinerated him.

An officer’s mauve - clad legs lay in the well where the Donovan XVIII had been bolted. Dalton’s randomly fired missile had hit him in the chest.

Two Solahma Troopers waited by the bulkhead just inside the corridor hatch. One of them managed to trigger his laser as Dalton’s Laser Cannon crisped them point - blank. The saffron pulse ruptured a pouch of Laser Cannon power packs and gouged a dollop from the Chu-i (Lieutenant)’s breastplate beneath.

Dalton, Mawby, and Heishi (Private) Janne Sanford, an instant behind, hosed the lockers and netting - secured bundles that festooned the aft compartment. anti - ’Mech laser beams hit too hard to ricochet, but the long bursts ripped sparks from the fittings and bulkheads. The compartment roared like a megawatt short circuit, giving the air an ambient neon radiance.

Forward, a pair of incendiary explosions thumped. There was a sharper blast and the Vampire’s lighting went off. Shamara or one of the BA Marines with her had found the APU.

Dalton reloaded. There were no Snow Ravens alive aboard the ship. The five pips on the corner of his Steele Dagger’s face shield indicated that they’d only had one wounded, Serita, in clearing the vessel, better than he’d figured. Last year on Conquista . . . two years ago? . . . Dalton and Serita had drunk their way through a case of whiskey they’d stolen from an admiral’s private suite.

“Special Ops come on, we’re not done here,” Dalton ordered. “We’ve still got a hangar full of . . . ”

“To all DEST personnel,” Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro’s voice broke in over the command channel. “Evacuate the port area soonest and reform in the equipment storage lot behind the warehouses west on the ferro crete. We’ll set up a perimeter there and wait for pickup. Soonest, people, soonest! Out!”

“What the hell?” said Ray Mawby. He’d been counting Laser magazines remaining. His index finger still pointed to the pouch he’d reached when the call came.

Dalton tried to suck a drink of water. He coughed and spewed it across the inside of his suit’s face shield. “Special Ops to the truck,” he ordered when he got his voice back. “Watch that there’s not somebody waiting when we come through the hatch.”

He hoped the truck still worked. He really hoped the truck still worked. He was afraid to think any farther ahead than that.

WORD COUNT 4615

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage Light BA (DEST)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Platoon: DEST Platoon Alpha
Squad: 1st
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE











DC-DR-06-02 #07

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Elmshorn
Travis
AirPort
Friday July 3rd 3096 1115 hours Local

Go-chu (Corporal) Hyung-on Fukui lay in the crawlspace beneath a warehouse, ten meters back from the wall. He could see wedges of the port through half a dozen of the open ventilators, but he was practically invisible from the outside. He had his Grey Death Battle armor suit’s small IR and Beagle Active Probe detection systems powered up to full gain.

A pair of Snow Ravens crouched at the base of an APC in the middle of the field. They held shoulder - stocked lasers. Fukui aimed his Minolta 9000 Advanced Sniper Rifle and squeezed twice: separate short bursts rather than a single long one. The beams’ vaporized both Solahma Troopers driving bands fluoresced ashes in the dimness.

Beams that missed sparkled like fairy dust against the APC’s hull. The Solahma Troopers ceased to exist under the hellish energy emitted from the power generated via the Grey Death’s suit’s auxiliary outlet to which the Minolta was plugged into.

Fukui scrambled a few meters sideways. Somebody might have noticed the vague flicker from his Sniper Rifle’s muzzle.

You’ve got to be fast. You’ve got to act without thinking. Otherwise you’re as dead as a civilian in a fuel - air blast.

On a corner of Fukui’s Grey Death’s visor was a remote image from Gunsho (Sergeant) Ralph ‘Stack’ Ibrahim. ‘Stack’ had retreated with most of DEST behind the line of warehouses. The lot there was half the size of the huge landing field. It held thousands of vehicles and pieces of heavy equipment in open storage ready for transshipment, but even that quantity of materiel didn’t fill the space. The pickup VTOL could land without scratching its paint on the Solahma Troopers hardware.

If a VTOL arrived. If anybody in the DEST was alive when it arrived. But worrying about that was somebody else’s job.

A vehicle drove through one of the smashed doors of the huge maintenance hangar across the port. Fukui aimed, dialing up the magnification of the armored suit’s holographic sight while keeping his visor at 1:1 for breadth of field.

No target. It was in fact a Solahma Trooper’s truck, all right, but there were three BA Marines in Steel Dagger armor in the battered cab and others clinging to the back. Chu-i (Lieutenant) Guy ‘Templar’ Dalton was bringing his people back, all of them and this was his first op, too. A pair of missiles hit close enough to stagger the vehicle, but it continued to accelerate. Two of the left - side tires were flat, giving the truck a shimmy.

Fukui wished he was alone on a planet. No decisions to make, no responsibilities. Nobody to worry about but himself.

Something rustled.Tthe local equivalent of a rat, or perhaps just leaves blowing. Fukui didn’t look away from the ventilators, his firing slits. His armor sensors would warn him of any infrared source corresponding to a human or a Snow Ravens. Even a civilian child.

Three Snow Ravens ran out of the distant hangar. Two had Mausers. The Solahma Infantryman in the middle lifted a long launching tube to his shoulder.

Fukui shot the missileer first. The Solahma Infantryman dropped his tube and staggered backward, but he stayed on his feet.

This was long range even for his Minolta Sniper Rifle. The beam it emitted depended on kinetic energy for their effect, and air resistance scrubbed off the laser’s intensity. The Snow Ravens’ lasers had better performance than their Inner Sphere counterparts at ranges of eight hundred meters and beyond, but it wasn’t often you had to worry about shooting the breadth of a AirPort.

Fukui raised his point of aim slightly for the second target. The coherent light hit the Solahma Infantryman in the face and throat. He flung up his hands and fell backward.

The third Solahma Infantryman looked around wildly. Fukui nailed him in the upper chest, then gave him a second beam when he didn’t go down. That Solahma Infantryman and the missileer collapsed together in a tangle of spindly limbs.

Fukui hoped Dalton made it clear. Well, he’d done what he could.

There was lots of room in the crawlspace. The extruded - metal joists were several meters off the ground across most of the building. A guy could live in a space like this if he had food and everybody left him alone. He’d have no decisions to make at all.

……………….

The truck went over a sunken tramline at forty miles an hour. They must have crossed the same trench headed for the hangar, but Dalton didn’t remember the jolt being so bad. The present condition of the truck’s running gear probably had something to do with it.

Heishi (Private) Ray Mawby bounced high enough to dent the cab roof with his Steele Dagger’s helmet. He shouted a curse.

“Quit bitching, Ray,” Dalton said. “There’s people who’d pay good money for a ride like this!”

A shell landed where the truck had crossed the tramline seconds before. Go-chu (Corporal) Shamara Taegert dragged the steering yoke to the right, fighting the vehicle’s tendency to drift left because of the flat tires on that side.

“They can have my fucking ticket then!” Mawby said. He fired at an APC on which nothing moved but wisps of smoke from all the open hatches.

More shells hit, well behind and this time to the left of the truck. Shamara continued to steer right. Her elbow rang on Ray’s breastplate.

A support weapons squad had set up in a pit near where the DEST Battalion had landed. Dalton couldn’t tell whether they’d been a LRM or a heavy Gauss rifle crew, because a shell had scooped everything out and sprayed it high in the air like ejecta from a volcano.

Bits of Kishi armor lay in a circle around the pit where they’d fallen. None of the pieces was larger than a gauntlet and half a forearm. One of the BA Marines lay spread eagled nearby with a full complement of appendages attached to the armored torso. Blast effects were funny things. Sometimes you’d find a corpse with all his clothes blown off but not a mark on his skin.

“Hang the hell on!” Shamara said as she fought the yoke. She wanted to turn into the alley between the warehouses and the collapsed ruin that had been the big transient compound, but the vehicle wasn’t responding the way it should.

The truck was supposed to steer all eight wheels, but there seemed to be more damage than just the flat tires. Mawby gripped the right horn of the yoke and forced it down against whatever was dragging.

The truck skidded. Metal shrieked, but they were turning, they were going to make it.

Movement caught the corner of Dalton’s eye. He turned his head and looked squarely at the shape waddling into the port from the north.

Dalton pointed his Laser Cannon by instinct, but he didn’t bother firing. While doing so would definitely get its attention, he could piss out the truck’s window and have just as much chance of damaging a Snow Ravens 50 ton Ku Wheeled Assault Tank.


* * *

“They’re eight minutes out,” Sho-ka (Command Sergeant) Cinderella 'Mocasin' Krall shouted to Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka ‘Iceman’ Kintaro. He’d handed responsibility for orbital communications to her when they left the jammer to automatic operation in the admin building. “They’ll be approaching from the west. four birds. Two transports and two escorts.”

It’d be a tight squeeze getting DEST aboard a standard Trireme VTOL intended for two platoons of battle armored BA Marines. Of course they didn’t have the usual amount of heavy equipment on this extraction.

And again, two birds with 36 ton cargo capacity might be about the right size.

Kintaro was in the cab of a construction tanker with plow - like nozzles on the underside to inject plasticizer into the ground. It was in the row nearest the back of the warehouses. Fuqua squatted beside Kintaro, nursing his plasma tube and looking grim. Tai-i (Captain) Ka Cheong ‘Ghost’ Chan stood on the tread of the giant earthmover adjacent. Kintaro liked having Chan close because of his electronics skills, though that increased the risk he and his XO would buy it simultaneously.

The rest of the Razan’s Ronins Battle Armor Marines were spread through the ranks of Snow Ravens vehicles, mostly near the back of the field. The Solahma Troopers artillery hadn’t begun targeting the storage field.

Solahma Troopers sensor technology was excellent, but the amount of metal and electronics in the park were perfect concealment for the scattering of battle armor. The DEST Battalion was going to need all the help it could get to stay alive until the VTOLs arrived.

If the VTOLs weren’t shot down. If Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi ‘Rough Ryder’ Razan didn’t abort the pickup for reasons that a mere Ronin BA Marine wouldn’t understand. If the VTOLs didn’t land on the wrong fucking side of the planet, because that was sure the way the DEST Battalion’s luck had been running so far.

If ‘Iceman’ got his people aboard the pickup birds, his job was over. Even if the chopper blew up in the next instant, it was no longer his responsibility.

The Snow Ravens who’d been in the port area when the DEST Battalion had arrived were either dead or cowed into keeping their heads down. The locals had reacted fast, but they weren’t most of them soldiers and they’d been up against the best. The Solahma Trooper’s quick individual responses meant they’d been mowed down in uncoordinated firefights against the Ronins Armored Infantry with better weapons, better armor, and better aim.

The Snow Ravens whose APCs had driven in the scrub woodland south and west of the port were infantry operating in formed units. There were already several hundred of them and they should have been dangerous, but so far every Solahma Trooper who reached a firing position had been killed instantly.

The Snow Ravens infrared signatures made them stand out like flags against the foliage and damp ground. Line troops wouldn’t have been any better off. The Razan’s Ronins BA Marine’s battle armor suites equipped with Active Probes could track targets crawling forward for hundreds of yards. When a Solahma Troopers raised his head, several Laser , machine guns, or a short range missile blew him apart. Sun - heated equipment hid the DEST Battle Armor as effectively as absorbent sheeting could have done.

The orange digits Steele Dagger lit a corner of Kintaro’s visor indicating a priority report from the squad leader, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Dalton. “Six, a tank’s entered the field from the north. We’re observing, but we don’t have shit to stop it. Over.”

Kintaro switched to visuals from Dalton on the left side of his visor. The Snow Ravens Ku Wheeled Assault Tank was an opalescent dome moving onto the field with the care of a blind man. It was too wide to pass through the space between the transient compound and the end warehouse without touching, but the tank’s armored sides would simply brush the rubble apart.

“Special Ops,” Kintaro said, “take firing positions but don’t do anything till I get there. Out.”

He grimaced to Fuqua and ordered curtly, “Come on. Chan, you’re in charge.”

“Five minutes!” he called back.

The DEST Battalion didn’t have five minutes before the tank had joined them in the storage lot. The pickup VTOLs would have to abort if there was a hundred - megajoule extended range large laser waiting for them.

The Blue Shield Particle Field Dampener that protected the tank against directed - energy weapons was also its main weakness. The flux was so dense that it bent light itself: the driver and gunners looked out through a rainbow curtain as dazzling as the light - shot mist at the base of a waterfall. Inertial guidance took the vehicle over mapped terrain and computer enhancement aided image resolution, but the tank crew still had to grope across the landscape unless it dropped the shield. Besides the blindness, its own ER Large Laser couldn’t fire while the shield was in place. The tank was limited to its secondary battery of its ballistic weapon. Which wasn’t saying much in the way of a consolation prize. It was a 152mm bore, heavy class, ultra rate, auto cannon. Yippie.

Kintaro ran toward the channel he expected the tank to use. The driver might plow directly through the warehouses, but that risked puncturing a tire from the debris and immobilizing the vehicle. Though the wheels were reinforced and protected with several sets of baffles, industrial construction bolts and large shards of heat tempered plexiglass showered from a collapsing building could still puncture the tires.

Kintaro’s quartet of short range missiles rattled against his breastplate as he jogged along a line of vehicles. Fuqua had a dozen more. The bodyguard almost never fired missiles during an operation, but he carried a triple load on general principles. Even if Dalton and his BA Marines had used up their missiles in their assault on the hangar, Kintaro and Fuqua between them carried enough for the purpose.

The shield didn’t affect projectiles . . . in either direction. The tank’s outline quivered within the iridescent dome as an auto cannon fired at the block of warehouses, perhaps the only target the gunner could make out. Explosions clocked at half - second intervals.

The short range missiles wouldn’t do more than scratch the tank’s paint. Even a long ranger . . . the last of them had disintegrated an APC that rose to scan the storage field for targets . . . couldn’t have penetrated the tank’s armor. A volley of light warheads might cause the Solahma Troopers to lower their shielding for a moment to see what was happening, though.

What would be happening then was Fuqua nailing the tank with his single - shot plasma weapon.

The roar of the tank’s fans staggered Kintaro as he stepped into the gap between buildings. The walls channeled sound the way a tidal bore focuses surf. Though the Ku Assault Tank was only halfway across the port, its shimmering mass filled the field of view.

Dalton’s Special Ops point squatted in the wreckage of the transient compound. They’d slewed a heavy truck across the middle of the open space, but that was more to draw the Solahma Trooper’s attention than in any hope of blocking the tank.

The tank fired a dozen explosive shells into the truck, which shuddered on its suspension. Tires and upholstery began to burn. Rounds that missed burst among vehicles parked in the field beyond.

Fuqua drew Kintaro down in a crouch at the corner of the warehouse. He was waiting for the shooting to stop before they darted across the open space. The tankers couldn’t see a moving figure through the enveloping rainbow curtain, but Fuqua didn’t want his Sho-sa (Major) to run into a random shell.

Though Kintaro knew he might as well. His plan wasn’t going to work. The crew of this tank had seen two of their sister vehicles blasted by the BA Marines’ Thumper artillery piece. They weren’t going to risk lowering their shield for even an instant, and not even ‘Iceman’ could blame the pilots of the Triremes for refusing to land on top of a Snow Ravens tank.

No member of the DEST Battalion was going to survive this operation.

WORD COUNT 2625

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage Light BA (DEST)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Platoon: DEST Platoon Alpha
Squad: 1st
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE




DC-DR-06-02 #08

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Elmshorn
Travis
AirPort
Friday July 3rd 3096 1130 hours Local

“C’mon, Joy, get your ass in gear!” Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Takei Oka screamed. He was wearing a sweatband and a fatigue shirt with the sleeves cut to fringes, the way he did when he worked out in the weight room on the grav deck onboard the Invader – Class JumpShip, Red Storm.

Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Winn opened her eyes. Had she been drinking? Her head buzzed and the whole universe was a rainbow blur.

“Move it, Joy!” shouted Go-chu (Corporal) Boris, gesturing her forward with a sweep of his armored arm. “We got a tank to take out!”

The rainbow was sunlight distorted through the shielding of a tank. Oka and Boris were dead, so dead that she’d be breathing bits of them if it weren’t for the Kishi armor’s filters.

The tank moved no faster than a blind man walking. A rigid - walled plenum chamber enclosed the axle assembly which supported the massive 50 ton vehicle. Exhaust blasting from beneath the tank’s exhaust manifold skidded Joy an inch along the ferro crete, but the tank was going to miss her.

A salvo of short range missiles spat from somewhere the other side of the slagged - down DropShip in which the DEST had inserted. The warheads twinkled harmlessly on the bow slope. The tank’s secondary armament chugged a ten explosive shells in reply, sending distorted images across the shield’s filmy surface.

It’d take a fair - sized meteor to damage a tank’s frontal armor with mechanical effect. If Heavy & Assault BA Platoon BA Marines were using personal missiles, it meant they didn’t have anything better.

We’ve got a tank to take out.

That was a job for a Ronin, and it looked like the call was for BA Marine Joy Winn. Boris and Oka might be willing to trade. . . .

Joy rolled into the gutted transformer pit. The plan of action formed in her mind as her muscles acted. The tank didn’t shoot at her. She was probably just a shadow through the shimmering distortion.

Darkness, brightening in a microsecond to a quivering ambience like the sun viewed from under water. The circuitry had amplified the apparent view through Joy’s Kishi visor. The tank’s underplate danced no more than a hand’s breadth above the field’s surface. Her suit’s helmet enhanced to normal viewing levels the light coming through that crack, though object’s edges were slightly fuzzy.

Exhaust like a tornado’s shearing boundary layer pounded Joy, shaking and bruising her despite her Kishi armor. Her helmet suppressed as much of the noise as possible, but the low - frequency harmonics made all her muscles quiver.

Weight distributed by five axles and ten wheels supported the vehicle’s fifty - plus tons. The forty inch high walls of the plenum chamber incase the rear three axles, spreading the vehicle’s weight evenly over the ground. The tank could roll over surfaces in which smaller wheels or treads would have bogged.

The weight didn’t go away, though. Joy’s Kishi armor kept the pressure from crushing her, but the Ku’s manifold output ducts buffeted her like water from a millrace. Against it, she fought her way from the transformer pit to where she could look up into the Ku’s undercarriage. She still had the pair of short range missiles hanging from her belt.

On the tank’s upper surface the inlets to the drive motors were screened and baffled. The exhaust manifold output duct into the plenum chamber was angled for protection from mines, but there was only one coarse grating downstream of the nacelle. Scrabbling forward to keep up with the tank’s slow advance, Joy pulled a missile from her belt and twisted the cap to arm it. She aimed it up the exhaust manifold, trying to keep the nose straight against the roaring, bone - shaking gale. Standard warheads didn’t have arming - distance delays: that risk was the BA Marine’s responsibility.

Ignition and the bang of the warhead blowing apart the grate were lost in the thunder of the axles grinding. Bits of casing cracked against Joy’s armor. She didn’t know if any fragments had penetrated.

Joy armed the second missile. It was getting harder to fight the exhaust. She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to aim the missile even the short distance to the nacelle. Her brain responded to crushing fatigue by pulsing waves of color across her vision.

She fired. For an instant she thought the blue glare was another trick of her mind. Her visor muted the light instantaneously. The exhaust manifold was a tube of arcing electricity and reflections as the Fusion 180 power plant destroyed itself. The solid column of exhaust that had rammed Joy as she squatted in the duct had ceased.

Metal shrieked over the rumble of the remaining axles. The tank’s armored lip was rubbing against the ferro crete. Four axles could no longer support the tank with the missing of the fifth one distributed its share of the weight over the other four.

The tank skidded to a halt, trapping Joy beneath its armored mass.

The tank settled, closing the gap between its armored hull and ferro crete. “But we got the fucker, sarge,” she whispered as darkness closed in.




* * *

Go-chu (Corporal) Hyung-on Fukui fired at the twisted image of the tank’s main gun, a high - powered Extended Range Large Laser. The chance of getting a beam through the tiny objective opening to damage the mirrors within wouldn’t have been high even if Fukui had been able to see the target clearly, but it was the best option going.

The magnetic dome in his sight picture changed hue. One of the intake ducts was arcing. The ionized particles couldn’t penetrate the shielding, so they swirled around the tank like swarms of angry blue hornets.

The tank slid to a halt. The scream of metal on ferro crete was so penetrating at close range that for a moment Fukui saw double. A pall of white dust rose around the vehicle, the ejecta of a four - inch trench pulverized from the AirPort’s surface.

Fukui locked a fresh magazine into his Minolta’s butt well. Instead of firing, he paused to see what the changing situation would bring.

The tank tried to move on the thrust of four axles. Fluid backed mournfully through the fifth wheel well. The shimmer of the Blue Shield Particle Field Damper vanished. The crew was throwing overload power to the remaining engines in order to get the tank moving again. The power plant didn’t have enough headroom to accomplish that and meet the enormous drain of the shield at the same time.

Fukui could see the squat ERLL barrel clearly for the first time. He hadn’t fired more than a half - second burst into it before the dazzling radiance of a plasma bolt struck the turret. That didn’t surprise him. Nobody survived in the DEST Battalion unless he was fast, and Chano Fuqua was damned near as fast as Fukui himself.

Fukui swapped magazines again. Part of him wondered how many civilians Fuqua had killed over the years.

The red mask of a priority message flicked three times across Chu-i (Lieutenant) Guy ‘Templar’ Dalton’s visor. “DEST, two minutes!” his helmet ordered. “All Razan’s Ronins DEST BA Marines, commence withdrawal protocol, Now! Over and Out!”

“Time to go, kiddies!” Dalton said after he pulled his own boots clear. Rubble shifted when the auto cannon raked the transient compound, though nobody’d been hit by the shells themselves. He paused an instant to make sure his BA Marines were all moving.

The tank moved, but it was drifting like a cloud. Its guns were silent. The crater glowing in the turret face was the only exterior sign of damage.

Dalton’s legs wobbled for a few steps before he found the rhythm. He followed Heishi (Private) Ray Mawby, the last of his Special Ops Point BA Marines, toward the pickup point. Two missiles hit the transient compound. A salvo of at least a dozen landed an instant later in a fury of noise, black smoke, and debris.

Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro rose from the shelter of the warehouse. “There’s a BA Marine . . . ” he shouted as he pointed a finger in the general direction. Dalton looked back.

The tank erupted a hundred meters from where the plasma bolt hit. A white - hot plume ate away the turret, spattering ash and molten metal to all sides. For a moment the huge vehicle continued to drift; then the chasis grounded again. The hull sank slowly as the walls of the plenum chamber softened and collapsed.

A BA Marine in Kishi armor climbed from the tramline the tank had crossed just before it stopped. The figure moved toward safety through the fiery drizzle.

Kintaro started to go back. Fuqua grabbed him.

“We’ll cover him!” Dalton called. Mawby was with him; the rest of Special Ops had paused among the first line of parked vehicles.

Fuqua nodded gratefully. He half - walked, half - carried the Sho-sa (Major) ten strides toward the pickup point before Kintaro gave up and jogged willingly on his own. Thunder pulsing intermittently from the west might be the extraction VTOLs.

Dalton sighed and armed his remaining missile. He and Mawby would help the BA Marine from Heavy & Assault BA Platoon . . . carry him, needs must, because whatever the guy’d done was damned sure the reason that tank wasn’t squatting on the pickup point right now. But first the BA Marine had to make his own way through the circle of debris that only an armored infantryman could survive.

And maybe the VTOLs would still be waiting when the three of them got to the pickup point.


* * *


The range to the hilltop where the pair of Snow Ravens were setting up a clip - fed missile launcher was nearly a thousand yards. Kintaro could see them clearly, magnified a hundred times in his battle armor’s holographic sight, but he either couldn’t hit them or the beams didn’t have enough energy at that range to put the targets down.

The extraction VTOLs would land in the center of the storage lot. As Razan’s Ronins BA Marines withdrew toward that point, the DEST Battalion’s base of fire collapsed. Now the Snow Ravens could raise their heads long enough to observe and engage the BA Marines.

Kintaro lay full - length on the roof of an APC swathed in anti - oxidant fabric. He took a deep breath and squeezed a short burst from the trigger as he breathed out. The Small Pulse Laser Cannon’s butt was against a chimney and he gripped firmly with his opposite hand. Even so the weapon’s slight recoil jerked the magnified sight picture up from the target.

A Snow Raven’s shell hit between a pair of tarpaulin - covered trucks and detonated with a bang. The whole line of vehicles shuddered away from the blast. They’d been stored without fuel cells, but fabric and lubricants started to burn. Some of the Solahma Infantryman troops must be observing for the batteries back at the Travis Military Base.

If the extraction VTOLs didn’t come soon, there wouldn’t be anybody to extract.

Kintaro lowered his weapon onto the distant target again. One of the gunners jumped up and clawed at his face. The other Solahma Infantryman was staring behind him at the roaring western sky. Kintaro’s finger squeezed without his conscious volition. As he did so, five LMTT long range missile hit the Solahma Infantryman’s weapon. Gun and crew vanished in a blue - white flash.

The VTOLs came in low. They were flattened cylinders eighty meters long and twenty wide, with the hatches already open along the rear two - thirds of their hulls. Oval intakes sucked air through a fusion torus. The gas . . . any atmosphere would do . . . was expelled as high - velocity plasma to drive and support the helos until they reached an altitude from which their rotors could push against the planetary field. Lasers and light shells sparkled against the VTOL’s armored chassis and blackened commercial armor as they bravely overflew the Snow Ravens infantry with their electronic baffling ECM suites fully engaged. They were, after all, Razan’s Ronins' pilots.

Twin escort Kestrel VTOLs fire salvo after salvo of ‘fire and forget’ air - to - ground missiles into the Solahma Troopers ranks with telling effects. But where twenty or thirty of them went down sixty more would take their place.

“DEST, Go! Go! Go!” Cinderella Krall shouted over the command channel. “All BA Marines aboard in sixty seconds!”

The lightly armed Trireme VTOL hovered, then dropped hard onto the field. The pilots landed with the thrusters shut off to avoid endangering nearby BA Marines. Three Solahma Troopers missiles detonated twenty meters above the vessels. Smoke drifted from the AMS defense turrets in the bow and stern. The triple shockwave rocked the VTOLs but didn’t damage them. BA Marines started jumping aboard which ever one was closest.

Something blew a sullen smoke ring from the Solahma Troopers - held woods. The fighting had lit several fires. One of them had reached a case of ammunition or grenades.

Kintaro looked over his shoulder. Dust and vari ­ colored smoke rose from beyond the warehouses. Some of the buildings were burning also. Kintaro’s eyes didn’t see any Razan’s Ronins BA Marines that his Kage visor’s location chart had missed.

“For Christ sake come on, sir!” Fuqua snarled. He gripped Kintaro’s shoulder and slid him off the APC by main force. Kintaro had stopped to provide cover while his BA Marines withdrew, so he and Fuqua still had a hundred yards to run to the Triremes.

The ATG SSRM4 missiles in the Kestrel VTOL’s quad lateral blisters raked the Solahma Troopers positions. The weapons worked by the same principle as their Battle Armor’s SRMs but flung half - ounce projectiles. Trees shattered and rock outcrops disintegrated into sparks and lethal fragments.

Salvos of three or four shells each dived on the VTOLs at intervals of a few seconds. Most of the rounds blew up in midair. Clouds of dirty black smoke spread above the Triremes. The AMS defense system cycled flechettes so fast that the mechanisms screamed like saws instead of crackling.

Two of the Solahma Troopers rounds hit the ground west of the northern most VTOL. A Razan’s Ronins BA Marine went down; a buddy helped him to his feet. Because the missiles had been badly aimed, the defense system hadn’t bothered to engage them. The software targeted only threats to the VTOL itself.

Pain crackled along the right side of Kintaro’s chest. He flipped his Kage’s visor up so that he could breathe without the constriction of the helmet filters. He should have switched to his oxygen bottle instead. The atmosphere was hot and metallic, sharp with ozone. His legs moved like wooden stumps.

The Trireme was ten yards away. BA Marines in the open bay fired toward the Solahma Troopers infantry. Dalton and Mawby helped the Nighthawk - suited DEST Platoon Bravo BA Marines climb the high step and flop forward on the deck.

Cinderella Krall was waiting at the flank of the ship. “Come on!” she screamed. The pilot blipped his air pumps. The thruster inlets honked air and a burp of iridescent plasma seared the ground.

“Go!” Kintaro shouted to the pilot on the ground - to - air channel. He turned his head for one last check on any of his people who might be staggering toward pickup without the helmet that ID’d BA Marines on the locator circuitry. More shells were shrieking down.

Fuqua turned and laid down a blistering pattern of cover fire. Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Gary Paraschak, from the DEST Kanazuchi Squad, and Cinderella each grabbed an arm and together hurled their commanding officer aboard the Trireme VTOL. An intense red flash silhouetted them and flung them after Kintaro. A shell had landed just short of the vessel.

The VTOL lifted. The hatches were already closing.

“Medic!” Kintaro shouted. He tried to sit up against the weight of Paraschak’s torso. “Medic!”

The BA Marines’ Kanazuchi and Kage armor had performed very well, sealing off the wound to staunch the bleeding with Harjel, but there was almost nothing left of either Paraschak or Cinderella below the waist.

“Medic, for the love of God! MEDIC!!!”

Word Count 2798

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage Light BA (DEST)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Platoon: DEST Platoon Alpha
Squad: 1st
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

User avatar
Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:24 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #09

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1245 hours Local

Go-chu (Corporal) Jules ‘Spider’ Chattan came up beside the ex - 18th Algedi Regulars, Tai-i (Captain) Terri ‘Dragon Lady’ Sicoe-Callaghan. "The DropShip CO, Chu-sa (Lieutenant Colonel) Johnny Yee, reports that the Wind Dragon Lance will begin launch operations in two minutes. The Reconnoiter Lance Commander reports that they’re secure in their pods and ready. Do you want to oversee the drop?"

"I’ll watch the descent of Wind Dragon Lance, but the Go-chu (Corporal) will have operational control of both the drop and the landing of Scimitar Company. Why are you smile, Jules?"

"Your delegation of duties. I like it," her lance XO answered.

"You get older, you learn," quipped the Tai-i (Captain).

"You get older, I get older, we all get older. Either way, there’s a mighty accomplishment," said Jules.

Terri shook her head. "I should never have allowed you access to my books. You are showing a dangerous fondness for epigrammatic speech.”

While they spoke, a rumble began to reverberate through the floors of the Union Class DropShip as the four BattleMechs of Wind Dragon were launched into space. Terri watched the ablative cocoons containing 'Mechs and their pilots descend from the Black Ronin and enter Stapelfeld’s atmosphere. The drop had a certain beauty to it, especially in the sun. The sun light reflected off the underside of the Black Ronin as its main engine continued to burn to allow it to follow the flashes of light that was Red Dragon Lance. In fact, an uninformed observer on the ground might have mistaken the flashes for flickering stars instead of the potent ‘Mechs they actually were. More flashes came from the three flights of aerospace fighters that darted, it seemed, from point to point in a precise pattern . . . keeping a close guard on the descending pods. Within a minute's time Terri had lost sight of the Lance. Within ten Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Jing ‘China Doll’ Li reported. She was also ex - DCMS. Second An Ting Legion.

" ‘Dragon Lady’, Wind Dragon has landed, ma’am. Area is secured, and marker beacons are up. Your orders."

Terri could feel the Black Ronin buffet a bit as it entered the thick lower atmosphere of Stapelfeld.

" Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Jing, maintain security around the landing zone. After Scimitar Company has landed, your orders are to supervise the offloading of the unit. Assemble them in Sector VI - C, and I will join you there."

"Yes, ma’am. ‘Teak’ and ‘Sutra’,” Jing referred to Gunsho (Sergeant) Christy Brinks and Go-chu (Corporal) Deborah Depp by their call signs, respectively. “I want a three - kilometer security zone set up around the LZ. Kim, prepare to assist in disembarking the incoming vehicles. I will transmit deployment patterns shortly." Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Kim Carns hadn’t been christened with a call sign yet.

Knowing the landing was in good hands, Terri ordered Jules to her 'Mech in the hold of the ship. Terri walked alone to her machine.

Entering the Black Ronin's 'Mech bay, Terri approached her own 'Mech, her Warhammer WHM – 9D. She slowly scrutinized the BattleMech, her attention falling for a moment on its large swooping - black Scimitar insignia. She had ordered that the design be repainted to add an almost luminescent blue to the fierce jewels in the hilt. Its lines had been streamlined, too, according to her orders. The silver paint on the sword’s razor honed edge was also designed to gleam. The same image had been duplicated in cloth patches on all the Scimitar Company uniforms.

Terri liked the black scimitar new look. The stylish icon was revived, like Scimitar Company themselves. She wanted every Snow Raven MechWarrior who went down to go with the black scimitar image in his mind. She wanted survivors to talk about the image as they limped off the battlefield.

She wanted the image of the slicingsword to represent the combat skills of Scimitar Company. It was a large order, She knew, but She was more and more confident that Scimitar Company would show their mettle in the battle that loomed so near.

With that thought in mind, She let the howdah carry her up to the Warhammer’s cockpit, where She relieved the tech. Settling into the command couch, easing the neuro helmet onto her head, testing the controls, looking out the viewport at the darkened 'Mech bay and the rest of the silent vehicles, Terri felt as if everything in her life were right. No jinxed Warhammer could prevent another success of Scimitar Company.

Scimitar Company was deployed for an advance across a wide expanse of flatland free of the strange thorny grasses that covered much of Highland Peninsula. Terri was impressed, never in memory having seen a BattleMech mustering as clean - lined and militarily correct as this one. Though Jing Li’s predecessor’s death had been unfortunate and wasteful, it had given her the opportunity to reassign Jing to the Company, something she had intended to do from the moment she took command of Scimitar Company. The job she had accomplished in shaping up Scimitar Company in so little time was probably just short of a miracle.

After years as a warrior who sometimes forgot that she was not alone in the field, Terri had finally learned that delegation was the key to command. The thought made her smile inwardly. The young Terri would never have considered assigning someone else to conduct training. She would have done it herself . . . and likely have been less successful. Jing, whose natural antipathy toward almost everyone she met kept her from becoming entangled in inconvenient alliances, and she could stir up experienced pilots with the same methods she had used to turn raw Heishi (Private)s into Gunsho (Sergeant)s.

The Company was lined up in two echelons, the advance guard and the main body. The mixed 'Mech and Tornado PA(L), Wind Dragon Lance and the Tornado G13 Small Laser Squad, were in front with vehicle Earth Dragon Lance running point, dispersed as skirmishers. Next came the ‘Mechs of Red Dragon Lance, formed up as a column with a two platoons of Ronins foot Marines and four units of mechanize troops from Bardicge Company’s Security Lance, with the remaining two PA(L) armored squads arranged in line - abreast formation on each of the column's flanks. To the rear of the main column was the one remaining Lance, Black Dragon Lance, 'Mechs commanded by Tai-i (Captain) Terri Sicoe-Callaghan. With the Tai-i (Captain) were the four 'Mechs of the Scimitar Company Command Lance. In the sunlight of the peninsula, the Tornado G13’s were like tall stalks of grass rising around the feet of the assembled 'Mechs. All told, twelve Battle - Mechs, eight vehicles, eighteen suits of Tornado PA(L) armor and twenty eight Infantry waited for Terri to give the order to advance.

“Scimitar Company, this is ‘Ronins Actual’. Check in,”

Tai-i (Captain) Terri ‘Dragon Lady’ was, almost predictably, the first of her commanders to respond. “Scimitar Company has landed and is moving on its objective.”

Their objective was the airport and military base of the Port Travis that the DEST battalion had been repulsed from, and they would begin their march toward them the moment the rest of Razan’s Ronins Regiment and the command group had formed up. The RF MacCreary Command Center had planned a rather straightforward march to the over swollen Elbe river, where they expected to engage Clan Snow Ravens. Beyond the river were the two objectives that would decide the battle, the airport about twenty kilometers to the southeast, the Military Base a few kilometers southwest of the river.

The operation looked simple enough on the battle charts and plans, the kind of direct engagement the Scimitar Company CO favored. Yet Terri knew that the Inner Sphere forces had at times won battles against their Clan enemies precisely because they were specialists at indirect engagement. They could employ the kind of sly, tricky strategies that Clan warriors scorned and therefore did not expect. Yet in the battle for Telos IV, Terri had borrowed the same kind of hit - and - run tactics that Clan warriors usually considered dishonorable, and they had won the day. It may have been just such an improvisation that had persuaded Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi Razan to give Terri and the Scimitar Company free reign in the coming battle. Terri's success with deceptive tactics, especially when the odds were hopelessly against her, was unusual among Inner Sphere commanders.

It was time to join her Company. Leaning slightly toward her headphone, and shaping its flexible metal cord to draw the mike closer to her mouth, she radioed Jing. "Relieving you, ‘China Doll’," she said.

" ’Dragon Lady’, your transmission was disrupted. Some kind of static. Adjust. Repeat."

Terri touched the microphone. Twisting the head, She tightened it. "Any better, ‘China Doll’?"

"Yes. Much better. No glitches."

“I am taking command of Scimitar Company."

"Roger that, Tai-i (Captain)."

Terri began her Warhammer moving forward. Was she mistaken, or did she detect a small, almost infinitesimal, delay in the response of the 'Mech's right leg when she depressed the right - foot pedal to turn the 'Mech toward the command lineup? Probably her imagination, she thought.

Coming up beside Jing and her Shadow Hawk, she ordered everyone to review the terrain between here and the river on their primary screens. When she punched up her own data, however, the logistical charts came onscreen instead.

"Is something wrong, Tai-i (Captain)?" Jing asked.

"I must have entered the wrong code." She punched the code once more. "There, that’s better."

As she instructed her Company on the terrain, reviewing combat opportunities and ambush threats, the entire left side of the primary - screen image flashed on and off in an irregular rhythm. The distortion did not interfere with her briefing, but it made her uneasy.

After the briefing, Terri began a normal checkoff on all controls. Nothing unusual until she pressed the button to display her armor status on her secondary screen. What she saw made Terri draw in her breath so sharply that Jing must have heard her over the commlink.

"Is everything all right, Tai-i (Captain)?" Jing asked again.

"Everything except that my display is saying that most of my torso armor has been blasted away. Red spots all over the chest and flashing. I may be down before we proceed from muster. Let me check again." When she touched the button once more, the onscreen information showed the proper prebattle armor configurations. "All right. My 'Mech is still functional, after all."

"It’s that Warhammer." Jules broke in. "The jinx. I told you about it."

"What’s wrong with the Tai-i (Captain)'s Warhammer?" Jing asked. Terri did not let Jules’ excuse flow about the legends attached to this 'Mech that had changed pilots so many times in previous years.

"That’s all superstition,” she said abruptly. "And this is no time for talk of tales and legends. Any 'Mech can have a glitch or two, and these are probably not even glitches. I’m a bit eager for battle, that’s all. My fingers hurry too much. The techs have checked out this 'Mech without finding anything wrong. It’ll be fine once we get into battle. Now, let’s check the internal - damage screen.”

As the rest of the checkoff went without a hitch, Terri wondered if there was something to what Jules said about the bad luck this BattleMech could bring. On the other hand, how could it bring her luck any worse than she had already experienced in her career as a warrior? Its defects, if they could be called that, were merely mechanical. No Mech Warrior worth her salt was fazed by mechanical defects. In a BattleMech, the pilot had either an alternate control or configuration for any malfunctioning unit.

It was foolishness to attribute the Warhammer’s mechanical oddities to some eerie expression of the 'Mech's personality. 'Mechs had only what their pilots gave them. And, Terri vowed, she would get this one under control if it killed her. Then she shuddered at her own thought. What a weird idea . . . as if a 'Mech could turn on its pilot. She had to purge such superstitions. There was no point to them, especially with an important battle waiting to be fought.

The airport of the Port city Travis, or at least those parts of it for which Terri had been able to obtain intelligence, wavered on her main screen. This time it was not a 'Mech deficiency; the image was wavering on the screens of all the Scimitar Company pilots. The data was insufficient, creating gaps that in turn made the image unsteady. Pieces of the airport seemed to want to close with other sections, as if the computer denied the missing parts. The projection for the Military Base was even less informative.

Word Count 2231

NPC
Name: Terri Sico-Callaghan
Callsign: ‘Dragon Lady’
Rank: Tai-i (Captain)
Hardware: Warhammer WHM – 9D
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Scimitar
Lance: Black Dragon
Assignment: Cavalry
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE



Name: MyKayla
Callsign: ‘Sy-Berian Starr’
Rank: Sho-ko (Master Sergeant)
Hardware: Daboku DCMS – MX92 - E
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE





DC-DR-06-02 #10

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
inbound
Stapelfeld
Upper Atmsphere
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1250 hours Local

Warning Klaxons blared all throughout the Union Class DropShip, the Dragon’s Nest, strident, demanding instant action to avoid catastrophe. The tone and frequency of the bursts sent personnel running in every direction. Some took up emergency stations with practiced calm, others fumbled in confusion; aside from drills, such a warning had not been heard in the lifetime of most of those aboard.

“Incoming Aerospace Fighters . . .Dragon’s Nest all hands to battle stations. Prepare for eminent attack,” announced the DropShip’s CO, Tai-i (Lieutenant Commander) Nickolas Cedric Wyatt, across the Dragon’s Nest intercoms.

With the Daiku Aerospace Squadron still scrambling to launch and the Yumi Squadron off guarding the Zenith JumpPoint, the ten Snow Raven Issus’ got a free shot at the Kiridashi Company Union - Class DropShip. They all but ignored the four other DropShips of Flying Dragon Wing, the Fortress - Class, the Gazelle - Class, the Union - Class, and the Overlord - Class for the opportunity to bring down the thirty seven hundred ton Dragon’s Nest. To which ever Snow Raven pilot landed the telling blow it would be a boon to his flight jacket. It would be akin to taking out a Company worth of military hardware or one thirty eight units, twelve BattleMech’s and twenty six vehicles. Their palates were salivating. The Snow Raven pilots were, however; in for a rude awakening. They needed to encounter not only the OEM standard Union - Class DropShip. Oh no. They also had to deal with the Razan’s Ronins’ upgraded variant, Vigilant – Class Corvette, complete with white shark and a Small Craft Wing to boot.

“What in the hell is happening? How is this possible?” Sho-sa (Major) Shannon ‘Crone’ Parrish bellowed from where she sat, strapped into her cockpit aboard her Hitotsume Kozo, forgetting that she had a direct feed to the bridge via the over head speakers as well as the impropriety of such an outburst on Tai-i (Lieutenant Commander) Nickolas Wyatt’s DropShip. Her status as Sho-sa (Major) did not excuse her behavior.

The bridge personnel ignored her. Unlike so many of the non - comms on board the DropShip and in the ‘Mech Bays on each deck of the Union - Class DropShip, they knew their jobs by rote and responded with instant action. In a pendulum counterpoint to Shannon’s bellow, Wyatt’s voice remained calm, cutting through the bridge hubbub and the siren like a diamond through glass . . . a sound that could not be ignored. “Evasive maneuvers on my mark.”

DropShip Captains would debate the effectiveness of ‘evasive maneuvers’ of a vessel as huge as a Union - Class DropShip against affecting the aim of her gunners. Yes, her erratic jinking would pose a slight hindrance to the fighters attempting to draw a bead on her but it would hamper even more the ability of her gunner’s turrets to effectively target the very aerospace fighters it sought to evade. ‘Six in one hand, half a dozen in the other’ was Nickolas Wyatt’s philosophy, however; he’d be damned if they were getting to attempt to run his DropShip through a gauntlet of aerospace fighters, Snow Raven pilots no less, like a dropping rock without out doing something.

The collective indrawn breath of those present filled the bridge with the pummeling heartbeat of the entire Razan’s Ronins Dragon’s Nest personnel. In an instant, the couple of scores on board her unit’s assigned DropShip paraded before Shannon’s mind’s eye. Their scramble to prepare for impact or thrust would not be enough. Regardless of shipboard discipline, such an event simply had not occurred in too many years and people had no time to take the correct precautions. Things would not be completely stowed. Individuals would be unable to sufficiently secure all items, including themselves.

There would be damage.

Numerous injuries.

Fatalities.

“Three, two, one. Initiate evasive maneuvers, NOW!” As though driven by the vocal synapses of Wyatt’s voice, the pilot’s arm responded instantly, cascading across a series of switches and buttons, before initiating a full burn; maximum power interrupted by short choppy burns.

Like a beast suddenly thrown into heat, the entire ship thrummed and shook; vibrations undulated the length of the keel, sending secondary reverberations out along the main struts on each deck, the shockwaves whipping out into the skin, which oscillated well beyond allowable stress levels.

The Dragon’s Nest succeeded in throwing off the aim of two Issus, another one was incinerated by her right fore - gunners particle projection cannon battery. She was hit broadside by a brace of thirty some odd short range high explosive warheads and the burning hulk of the unfortunate Snow Raven pilot.

Small breaches on two decks occurred immediately.

As the mammoth Mitchell Interstellar planetary drives pummeled the ship to and fro under gravities not experienced in decades, three more small breaches occurred as the fighters rounded and came back for another pass, while power failures plunged several decks into darkness. The mass of the Union DropShip made the move seem almost miraculous. Shannon imagined she could see the fabric of space splitting along the bow of the ship. A snarling swirl of raging space water, torn from its placid calm and thrust into a maelstrom that arced around the ship and into violent vortices in the ship’s wake.

Seconds ticked by as the behemoth vessel tried to slough off the chains of gravity and inertia and launch itself into motion.

The Issus broke off into two man sorties as they tried to stay viable while avoiding the Dragon’s Nest’s return defensive fire. Man made, cerulean lightning bolts, green pulse laser, ruby red darts of lethal energy, and grey contrails of missile launches crisscrossed against the black backdrop of cold, lifeless space. The Razan’s Ronins Small Craft Wing; Peregrine Falcon Flight, two Ares Mark IVs and Red Justice Flight, twin Caerleons, entered the fray. Both flights were far more nimble than theUnion - Class and each claimed an Snow Raven operated Issus each.

At a command from Wyatt, the main view screen split into two sections; the left side showing forward, the right showing rearward toward the incoming depleted Snow Raven star of aerospace fighters, toward their potential doom.

Shannon’s hands clenched the edge of her command couch as she was ensconced inside a ceramic drop cocoon. Though she was the ultimate leader of the Kiridashi Company, in such crises the ship’s commander took absolute authority. Shannon hated feeling helpless, as most ‘Mech warriors did in a similar situation.

Though the crew and gunners attacked their tasks relentlessly, with Wyatt issuing numerous commands sending personnel toward hull breaches and power failures, all eyes stayed glued on the rear view screen.

Too little, too late. Shannon ground her teeth, her muscles aching after so many hours at double gravity to reach the planet quickly.

For the first time, she regretted signing off on the downgrading of the Dragon’s Nest ’s massive drives, now striving through old grit and disuse to push out a paltry two gravities; the disharmonic pings and odd thumps reaching her ears reminded her, as if the bucking of the vessel itself did not, that the Dragon’s Nest might not survive such abuse. Slowly, achingly, she drew closer and closer to the release point.

Sweat beaded across Shannon face and fell toward the back of her head.

The seconds ticked into minutes and then long minutes. Velocity increased. Though wretched, horrible sounds still spanned the length of the Assault DropShip, Shannon could feel it acclimatizing to the punishment, adjusting to the pounding rhythm of the fusion drives.

As Shannon’s mental clock reached fifteen minutes, a wretched smile stretched her face. When the tortured time dilation tipped the scale at twenty minutes, she began to laugh out loud a wheezing of tormented air. Though she knew her laughter was raising hackles across the comm net, she could not stop; hers was the laughter of the damned.

Delicious irony. The very enemy I’m most desperate to see surprises me and might just kill us all in the process.

Her frenzied laughter reached a crescendo, filling the net as the five DropShips fended off the Snow Raven aerospace fighters, tearing at its only reality, spewing forth an emergence wave of pain, suffering, anguish, before sealing its wounded shell and the remaining Snow Raven Issus finally bugged out, vanishing once more from human perception as they broke and burned for the atmosphere.

The Regiment’s Repair & Refit Lance aboard the Dragon’s Nest, an aging Union - class DropShip took the brunt of the damage. Most of the casualties occurred there and the docking ring, regardless of its carbon – carbon reinforced struts, crumbled and partially tore, shifting the entire ship during the mad evasive action. Then, as the blasts of particle energy shattered atoms all along the bow of the DropShip, the ship actually lurched forward, for a brief burst obtaining a velocity it never achieved even before its transformation. Though the hard work of the Razan’s Ronins engineers over the past few months kept the ship from completely rupturing, it listed radically, throwing objects and personnel from their stowed positions. These became projectiles fired as though from a gun, causing massive damage inside the old ship and several casualties. Though the other DropShips, the Ulvenwald and the Tempest Fury themselves sustained some damage, of the thirty eight injuries, more than twenty five of them occurred aboard the Dragon’s Nest; of the twenty - seven deaths, nineteen.

They all got off lucky.

WORD COUNT 1667

NPC
Name: Shannon Parrish
Callsign: ‘Crone’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Hitotsume Kozo HKZ – 1F
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Kiridashi
Lance: Dragon Watch
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE



Name: MyKayla
Callsign: ‘Sy-Berian Starr’
Rank: Sho-ko (Master Sergeant)
Hardware: Daboku DCMS – MX92 - E
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE







DC-DR-06-02 #11

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1300 hours Local

Kiridashi Company, and their sister units in the Scimitar Company, had been opposed during the final few hours of their burn to Stapelfeld by what appeared to be the last flights of AeroSpace Fighters the Snow Raven could muster. Like OmniMechs, Snow Raven fighters could be easily modified to suit a particular mission or a particular pilot’s fighting style.

Though the Snow Raven pilots fought bravely, there was little doubt as to the outcome of the attack. The Snow Raven fighters were battered aside by the inbound the Ronins Small Crafts and harried to death by the Razan’s Ronin’s own remaining aerospace fighters. Still, they managed to inflict some damage. The Dragon’s Nest, a Union Class DropShip carrying the Kiridashi Company, took heavy laser fire from a mottled gray Issus and still another one kamikazied into the DropShip’s hull and that collision jammed one of her ‘Mech bay doors. Though the Dragon’s Nest was still operational, some of the Ronins would be forced to queue up to use the remaining door in that bay.

“Sho-sa (Major) Parrish?” A voice sounded in her ears.

“Parrish. Go.”

“Sho-sa (Major), we are over the drop zone. Request permission to deploy the Company.”

With a nod made of equal parts satisfaction and apprehension, Parrish said, “Permission granted. Deploy the Company.”

“Very well.” The Dragon’s Nest’s commanding officer, one Tai-i (Lieutenant Commander) Nickolas Wyatt, sounded relieved. As soon as the ground forces were deployed, the DropShips could pull back and await the message signaling that the landing zone was secure. “Dragon’s Nest to all Main LZ Drop Company commands, commence drop in five…four…three…two…one…Drop, now, now, now!”

The very second Wyatt’s third ‘now’ blared from his headset, the remote feed to Sho-sa (Major) Shannon ‘Crone’ Parrish’s ‘Mech was cut off and she kicked over to a small local transmitter attached to the outside of her ceramic drop pod. While it was not powerful enough to establish communications over distances much more than a thousand kilometers, it would at least keep her in contact with her own company until she shed the protective cocoon and went to ground so that she could bounce her communications suite of her Hitotsume Kozo off of a Razan’s Ronins based Antares Series AS - 17 C3ISR Satellite.

The Antares Series AS - 17 C3ISR Satellite was a military surveillance satellite constructed by Sorcerer Technologies of the Federated Suns. Part of a series of satellites built over time for AFFS. The AS - 17 C3ISR is not only used by the military, but also House Kurita's Internal Security Forces. The satellite is designed for multiple roles such as; Recon, Command & Control, Communications, intelligence gathering, & surveillance.

Faintly, through the huge, egg - shaped drop capsule and the thick legs of her Hitotsume Kozo, Shannon felt the trembling of the big spheroid DropShip as the first of twelve BattleMechs dropped free of her armored hull in three waves of four. Though she hated the waiting, cooped up inside the blind, silver - gray world of the drop pod, she would have to take her turn. As the Dragon Watch Lance commander, the overall leader of Kiridashi Company, her place was in the middle of the second ‘stick’ of four ‘Mechs to be dropped. With each barely perceived shudder of the huge vessel, her turn drew ever closer.

“Hang on, ‘Libre’,” she called to her Dragon’s Watch Lance XO. “By my count, we’re next.”

Making an orbital drop was in some ways a study in contrasts. MechWarriors experienced a sudden switch from the sensation of motionlessness aboard the coasting DropShip to the stomach - churning acceleration of being punted out the ship’s drop tube, and then back to the feeling of floating in space. Shannon, of course, knew better. Though she couldn’t see the cloud - shrouded bulk of Stapelfeld rushing up to meet her plummeting ‘Mech, she was well aware of the fact that she was encased in over a fifty five tons of armored BattleMech and protective drop - pod, at an increasing rate of about ten meters per second, per second.

Then there was the contrast in noise level. Inside the Dragon’s Nest’s ‘Mech bay, it was relatively quiet, save for the tactical feeds coming in through her pod’s service umbilical. When the umbilical was detached, it became deathly silent, save for Shannon’s short conversation with Kashira (Talon Sergeant) Zach ‘Libre’ Evans over their short wave communication and the beating of her own heart. As soon as the Hitotsume Kozo and its protective pod were launched into space, the quiet was broken by a faint hissing sound that soon became a high keening, then a basso roar. The sound was generated by the massive, egg - shaped capsule slicing its way through Stapelfeld’s upper atmosphere. Shannon knew that the outer ceramic covering of the pod was heating rapidly due to friction with the air. Were it not for the pod, her ‘Mech would burn up in the atmosphere long before ever reaching the planet’s surface below. If some small, hidden fault in the capsule’s outer surface should suddenly manifest itself, the result would be the same.

Shannon glanced at a multifunction display that bore a series of rapidly decreasing numbers. She knew that the figure represented her estimated height in meters above the planet’s surface. Estimated, because her ‘Mech’s sensors were unable to penetrate the pod’s thick skin and give her actual altitude.

Maybe this is why ‘Libre’ hates orbital drops.

As the pod fell, and the roaring sound grew ever louder, Shannon thought she could feel the temperature inside her cockpit begin to rise as air friction began to heat and wear away the drop pod’s outer, ablative surface. The pump set into her command couch kicked on with a loud thump, sending a wave of coolant flooding through her MechWarrior combat suit. The incredible amounts of waste heat generated by the ‘Mech’s power plant and weapons could fry a warrior in very short order. To combat that unpleasant occurrence, ‘Mech designers installed a number of heat sinks to bleed off the high temperatures that would otherwise cause the machine to shut down, its ammunition to explode, render its electronic control and targeting packages balky, and incapacitate or even kill its pilot.

Even so, the temperatures inside a ‘Mech’s cockpit during a pitched battle could rise as high forty - six degrees Celsius. To fight this oppressive heat, the MechWarriors of the Razan’s Ronins wore combat suits that circulated the same ethylene glycol - based solution as their ‘Mech’s heat sinks.

Shannon felt the rush of fresh coolant flowing through the suit’s tubing. This was followed by a mental wave of gratitude to the Tai-sa (Colonel),who had provided the combat suits, as she watched the cockpit’s internal temperature continue to rise on a secondary display screen.

A high tone sounded in her ears.

“Hang in there, ‘Libre’,” she called. “That’s the one - minute warning.”

Sixty seconds later, the huge gray ceramic and steel egg split apart, leaving Shannon’s huge, boxy ‘Mech falling toward the ground below. Now, her sensors worked, and she could tell exactly how far above the surface they were. Eighteen kilometers, still a long way above the ground, but at the rate the Hitotsume Kozo was falling, it wouldn’t take long to cover that distance, unless…

With a massive snap, a five - petaled blossom of parachutes bloomed into existence overhead. The dropping ‘Mech suddenly slowed, its feet orienting violently downward. The chutes weren’t intended to bring the massive war machine gently down on the landing zone. It was falling far too fast and weighed far too much for that. The quintuple nylon canopy was merely intended to slow the ‘Mech’s fall and orient it’s feet - downward. In that way, the jump jets built into the ‘Mechs feet would provide enough braking power to bring the Hitotsume Kozo down safely. Such measures were necessary in all BattleMechs even those that lacked integral jump jets.

For the first time since entering the drop pod, Shannon looked around with her own eyes. As far as she could see, there were dark black streaks blazing against the morning sky. It looked like a massive meteor shower, but she knew that the blazing smoke - trails were not tipped by rapidly eroding chunks of nickel - iron, but by multiple - ton mechanisms of ceramic and steel and death. Other, smaller streaks, not as visible, but just as significant, laced the afternoon sky. These were the trails of drop pods, already split open to deliver their cargo of death into Stapelfeld’s atmosphere. Every four of these dull black strands meant another Ronin ‘Mech on its way to Stapelfeld.

“Sho-sa (Major), I have the beacon,” Kashira (Talon Sergeant) Zach 'Libra' Evans reported with a calm voice that belied his admitted and extreme anxiety. “Altitude now, eight kilometers.”

A guidance discrete flashed into life on Shannon’s head’s up display. The small green circle indicated the point toward which she was supposed to steer her dropping ‘Mech. A gentle tap on the jump jet throttle swung her massive Hitotsume Kozo onto a course for what Evans called “the beacon”. In reality, their landing zone was a broad, relatively flat expanse of ground one hundred fifty kilometers due north of Travis and well outside the Highland continental capital of Hamburg.

The small flashing light on her Hitotsume Kozo’s HUD gave Shannon a mark toward which to steer her descending ‘Mech. In theory, if she stayed on target, according to the guidance discrete, she would hit her assigned LZ with no trouble. The theory also stated that a fixed landing beacon increased the chances for hitting the correct landing zone. In this case the theory would probably be correct.

The landmark provided a perfect landing beacon for Ronin Legion Battalion. Though the area could never serve as a landing zone for the entire Regiment, their ‘Mechs’ sophisticated computer systems were able to key in on the beacon and determine the actual location of their landing zones.

“Sixty seconds,” Shannon called, as the altimeter clicked over to read four thousand meters. Clamping down hard on the jump jet throttle, she fired the jets for a long, twenty - second burst, slowing the Hitotsume Kozo. If she did hit the ground hard, at least now she was moving at a more or less survivable rate of descent.

At two thousand meters, Shannon gave the jets another long burn, taking even more speed off her fall. Then, a scant five hundred meters of the ground, she lit off the powerful reaction - fuel jets in a final braking burn. The fifty - five ton, humanoid ‘Mech shuddered with the incredible amount of kinetic energy being spent to bring it to a safe landing. The whining roar of the jets tortured Shannon’s ears as she struggled to keep the decidedly top - heavy machine in an upright landing position.

With a heavy, jolting thud, the Hitotsume Kozo touched down. Shannon bent the ‘Mech’s thick, armored knees to absorb the last of the machine’s downward energy. Bringing the ‘Mech upright again, she flicked a cover locked control, and was rewarded with a firecracker series of sharp, flat cracks as a dozen explosive bolts fired, dropping the drogue chute to the ground.

“All Ronin units, this is ‘Crone’. Check in,” she snapped into her communicator. “ ‘Crone’, this is ‘Dragon Lady’.” Tai-i (Captain) Terri ‘Dragon Lady’ Sicoe-Callaghan was, almost predictably, the first of her commanders to respond. “Scimitar Company has landed and is moving on its objective.”

“ ‘Crone’, Soleng. We’re down and safe.” Chu-i (Lieutenant) Onyanko Soleng, the Dragon Lair Lance’s rookie commander, was far less formal than her more spit - and - polish counterpart. “We’re establishing a perimeter.”

The Sho-sa (Major) received no response from her veteran Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant), Tushio ‘Huski’ Sakai over her Dragon’s Eye Recon Lance. She waited several long minutes before she tried him again. “Dragon’s Eye, this Kiridashi Actual, I say again. Sit - rep.” Shannon waited exactly sixty seconds before she broadcast her messaged to all known Dragon’s Eye frequencies. Five minutes went by and still no answer. She then reached out to the Razan’s Ronins orbital AeroSpace carrier Command, the RF MacCreary, an Vigilant - Class WarShip and gave a brief synopsis of the situation to its commanding officer, Dai-i (Commander) Georgi Draganov, who then routed orders out to Wakayama AeroSpace Assault Battalion’s Daiku Squadron for the Blue Dragon Flight to refuel and re - launch to perform a flyby of Dragon’s Eye’s LZ to determine what the status was of an entire Razan’s Ronins Recon Lance, It had to be the iron ore in the mountains for the whole lance to be out of contact. Or so she hoped.

Shannon checked a secondary monitor, this one programmed to display a map of the Ronin’s Regiment area of operations. Scimitar Company’s objective, a medium sized airport and Military Base called Travis, was several kilometers north and west of the landing zone. The ‘Dragon Lady’ was tasked with attacking and laying siege to the AirPort so the Ronins could ground their aerospace fighters and the fort to establish a beach head from which to set up a triage and a defensible position for the 20th Pesht Regulars and their attending guerilla forces. Shannon’s Dragon’s Watch Lance was dropping in the northern quadrant of the Razan’s Ronins Main LZ. From there all the Ronin Legion Battalion’s ‘Mechs would regroup and swarm onto the continent of Neustadt. There they would stage attacks on Snow Raven forward bases and feint towards the spaceport and then move on to actually attack Snow Raven’s supply depots along the coast. Shannon made certain that Terri understood that her forces were not to engage in a street - to - street battle for Travis unless such a fight was absolutely unavoidable. Dragon’s Eye Lance, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Sukai’s command, was to infiltrate Altstadt and set up a Forward Observer post from there to obtain over watch on the Clan Snow Raven forces.

WORD COUNT 2431

NPC
Name: Shannon Parrish
Callsign: ‘Crone’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Hitotsume Kozo HKZ – 1F
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Kiridashi
Lance: Dragon Watch
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE



Name: MyKayla
Callsign: ‘Sy-Berian Starr’
Rank: Sho-ko (Master Sergeant)
Hardware: Daboku DCMS – MX92 - E
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE





DC-DR-06-02 #12

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1305 hours Local

Kashira (Talon Sergeant) Zachariah 'Libre' Evans controlled his breathing as the techs sealed up his ‘Mech's drop cocoon. This would be his first live drop and he already hated the claustrophobic feeling of being sealed up inside the cocoon, felt like being sealed in a coffin.

He felt the G force rise as the Dragon’s Nest rapidly deaccelerated as she skimmed the surface of Planet Stapelfeld's atmosphere. Zach's hands felt heavy on the controls as 2.5G's pushed his body down into his command chair, the cocoon rumbled noticeably as the dropship's great engines slowed her down enough to make the drop, while still retaining enough momentum to escape Clan Snow Raven's aerospace fighters.

The acceleration stopped and suddenly Zach was thrown into weightlessness. His restraints held him down, but still he enjoyed the brief sensation until the planet's gravity started to reassert its dominance. The cocoon shuddered as the air thickened and the outside of the cocoon began to heat up, slowly ablating in order to protect the pilot and ‘Mech contained within from the hellish temperatures outside. It was all Zach could do to keep his breathing steady, if something went wrong now he probably wouldn't live long enough to know what had happened. The buffering eased off and then he felt the retro rockets kick in. The cockpit altimeter counted down to three hundred meters and Zach found himself bathed in light as the cocoon's wall peeled away, exposing his ‘Mech to the world.

The bolt on retrorockets kept his decent manageable as his Medium Class Wolf Trap fell with all the grace a 45 ton walking tank could manage. Around him the other three members of Dragon’s Watch Lance descended on their own columns of fire, far above them the other four lances of Razan's Ronins would still be descending in their cocoons.

'20m, 15m, 10m, 5m' Zach's altimeter counted down, he pressed down on his ‘Mech's foot pedals, adding his own jump jets to bring his speed down to something survivable as he impacted the ground with a thud.

“All Ronin units, this is ‘Crone’. Check in,” Sho-sa (Major) Shannon ‘Crone’ Parrish waited until after she had heard back from Scimitar Company, Dragon’s Lair Lance, and had contacted the RF MacCreary to start a search for her Dragon’s Eye Lance before getting a sit rep from her own lance. She flicked the transmit switch on her radio. "Dragon Watch Leader to lance, status."

"Watch 2, aye, aye Sho-sa (Major)."

"Watch 3, ready, willing, and able."

“Watch 4, cocked, locked, and ready to rock.”

"Form on me and move out." Shannon got her ‘Mech into motion as the Wolf Trap, the Puma, and the Panther fell in behind her. "Dragon’s Watch Leader to Red Dragon Leader we are on the move."

"Roger that. Dragon’s Watch Leader." Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Jing Li replied. "Watch my flank I'm going in."

Activating her jump jets again, Shannon cleared the hill in front of her, her lance following closely. Her Hitotsume Kozo’s HUD read 3km to their target, a number that shrank noticeable by the minute as she pushed his ‘Mech to its maximum speed of 82kph. She strained her eyes as she scanned each approaching wood line before vaulting it with her jump jets. Somewhere ahead the remnants of the 20th Pesht Regulars were fighting for their very lives, their comrades ambushed and slaughtered by Clan Snow Raven, those that were left were being slowly hunted down and exterminated by roving groups of Omnimechs.

"Contact!" Jing shouted down the radio, excitement clear in her voice. Red Dragon Lance had broken through a tree line to find an Adder and Stormcrow cresting the hill directly in front of them. "Red Dragons, form a line and close to three hundred thirty meters." Jing ordered as she licked her lips in anticipation, her lance mates, a Griffin, a Wolverine and a Komodo, spread out beside Jing's Shadowhawk as they advanced at a run towards their enemy. The Stormcrow fired first, ER Large Lasers carving chunks out of Jing's armor.

"Christ he's accurate...keep your speed up." Jing ordered as her Red Dragon’s returned fire, PPC bolts and LRMs streaked across the divide to limited effect. Continuing to take accurate fire, Jing's lance veered off to the left, trying to keep the advancing Clan ‘Mechs within the effective range of their weaponry without allowing their enemy to close the gap. The Stormcrow continued to concentrate on Jing, slowing to a near halt to improve the accuracy of its fire as it fired volley after volley of laser fire into the Shadowhawk. The Adder's pilot was more aggressive, heading straight for the Red Dragon 3's Komodo, the pilot carefully picked his moment before firing, the twin ER PPC bolts struck true, knocking the Komodo clean off its feet.

"Hold on ‘Sutra’, we're coming." Jing shouted as she dragged her ‘Mech around to go to her fallen comrade's aid. She didn't make it, as ‘Sutra's ‘Mech struggled to its feet the Adder fired again. The Komodo seemed to fly apart as the man made lighting tore through the center of its torso, destroying the engine. She saw the ejection seat fly into the smoke clogged air.

Jing swore as laser fire melted more of her ‘Mechs armor. "Christy fall back into the trees!” Jing ordered on Gunsho (Sergeant) Christy Brinks personal channel before switching frequencies to request assistance. “ Shannon we need a hand, got a Puma and a Ryoken right on our asses."

"On our way." Shannon had already been moving up in support before she got the call for help. 'Adder and Stormcrow', she mentally corrected Jing's report, 'we have to start using the right names if we're going to figure this enemy out.' A quick glance at her ‘Mech’s HUD and then she radioed Jing again.

"Red Dragon 1, do you know what a Thach Weave is?"

"Yes." Jing replied, her remaining three ‘Mechs had taken more damage getting into the woods but it had bought them a brief respite from the deadly accurate fire of the Clan warriors. "We're on it, Christy, Kim, stay close."

The Adder broke through the woods first, moving quickly and confidently it chased after the fleeing survivors of Red Dragon Lance. Somewhat further back the Stormcrow moved more cautiously, hanging back to fire at the edge of its weaponry's range. Desperately trying to throw off the Clan pilots aim, Jing threw her Shadowhawk through a series of tight turns while counter rotating the ‘Mechs torso to keep her weapon arm on target. Kim and Christy concentrated their fire on the Adder, slowly wearing down the light ‘Mechs armor, but not fast enough, with its superior weaponry and better marksmanship it was winning the firefight even with only limited support from the Stormcrow. "Any time now Dragon’s Watch."

"Nearly there." Shannon pushed her ‘Mech to the limit as she ran towards the hill currently keeping her lance hidden from the Clan ‘Mechs. "Now or never, Dragon’s Watch Lance follow me."

The Hitotsume Kozo and the Panther fired their jump jets near simultaneously as possible, vaulting the obstacle in a single bound. The Wolf Trap and Puma crested the hill on a dead run. Still airborne, Shannon fired the moment the Adder came into view, her Heavy PPC beam crystalizing dirt into coal as it landed short, striking the ground at the Adder's feet. Her lance mates added their fire, PPCs, Plasma Rifles, and flights of SRMs and LRMs arcing towards their target scoring multiple hits. Landing heavily without an audible crunch the quartet continued their mad dash towards the Adder, firing as they closed. The Adder stumbled under the repeated weapon impacts, abandoning its pursuit of Red Dragon Lance it turned to track the swiftly moving ‘Mechs of Dragon’s Watch Lance as they passed behind it. Returning fire with its ER PPCs, it scored numerous hits on Dragon’s Watch 3's Panther, blasting chucks of armor from the ‘Mechs arms and legs. Far to the rear, the Stormcrow tried to close the distance and provide covering fire, but too slowly. Even as Dragon’s Watch Lance broke for cover, Red Dragon lance peeled off to the left swinging behind the Adder. Keeping the range open, Christy fired first, an ER PPC blast and flight of 15 LRMs hammered into the rear of the Adder, slagging armor and jamming its right arm. Jing was more direct, sprinting straight for the enemy ‘Mech, she slammed her Shadowhawk bodily into the Adder. The impact threw the Adder onto its side, it severed the Adder’s left leg and it went spinning wildly away into the dirt. Shouting in elation, Jing lined up the finishing shot, destroying the ‘Mech with a final volley of LRMs and ER medium laser fire even as the pilot ejected.

"One down!" Jing celebrated over the radio as she made for cover, harried from a discrete distance by the Stormcrow. "Now let's get the last one!"

"Negative." Shannon replied firmly. "The rest of the star will be here soon. Fall back to the heavies, let them handle the next phase. Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) retrieve your downed pilot."

"But…" Jing started to complain as she jumped into the cover of a wood area before glancing down at her HUD, almost all her armor showed red if not black. Black indicating an armor breach. "Roger Dragon’s Watch Leader, Red Dragon 4 go grab Debbie and then All Red Dragons, follow me, we're falling back."

WORD COUNT 1668

NPC
Name: Shannon Parrish
Callsign: ‘Crone’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Hitotsume Kozo HKZ – 1F
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Kiridashi
Lance: Dragon Watch
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE



Name: MyKayla
Callsign: ‘Sy-Berian Starr’
Rank: Sho-ko (Master Sergeant)
Hardware: Daboku DCMS – MX92 - E
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

User avatar
Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:31 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #14

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Lost Lakes
Friday July 3rd 3096 1245 hours Local

The world exploded in Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi ‘Rough Ryder’ Razan’s ears, as the Heaven Scent launched her from its 'Mech bay. In a blast of metal chaff and fragments of ablative plating, the Naginata and her lancemates began their plunge planetward. It was Onishi in her Naginata; Chu-i (Lieutenant) Akita ‘The Bear’ Fujinaka in a Banzai; Sho-ko (Master Sergeant) Yorinaga Wakamoto in one Hatamoto – Chi; and Go-chu (Corporal) Gerald ‘Scratch Proof’ Brand in the other Hatamoto – Ku.

Onishi fired a burst from her thrusters, stopping a vicious tumble before it could properly begin and orienting herself into a spread - eagle, face - down position. She was now a ten - meter tall, ninety five - ton skydiver, accelerating to terminal velocity. After instructing her computer to disregard the metallic debris all around her, she clicked on her proximity radar and got her bearings.

The fighter battle that Tai-i (Lieutenant Commander) Petre ‘Savannah’ McIntyre had been describing still raged among the clouds quite far off. Onishi was alone, except for the radar images of the other 'Mechs in her immediate command lance being fired out of the hurtling DropShip as it receded toward the southeast. The ship's course helped to orient them. There was the Highland Peninsula, bloated, huge, and ragged under scattered clouds, stretching down to a cobalt, island - dotted sea. Streaks of fire marked other DropShips on their run low over the Peninsula. Those would be the commands of Sho-sa (Major) Shannon ‘Crone’ Parrish and her Scimitar Company, Tai-i (Captain) Terri ‘Dragon Lady’ Sicoe-Callaghan, making their insertions . . . and the Snow Raven aerospace fighters rising from Hamburg to meet them. Clouds obscured the isthmus as well as the vast expanse of the Elbe Basin, which was almost under Onishi's feet now. Mountains extended toward her from the west. As nearly as she could tell, her lance was dead on course.

They had ejected at 16,000 meters and been in freefall for seconds that dragged like hours. Her altimeter flickered the dwindling meters as she kept her hands solidly planted on the controls that would trigger her rockets. Her 'Mech had no parachute. Fire her rockets too early, and she would run short of fuel for a safe landing. Wait too long, and her comrades would scrape what was left of her Naginata off the flank of those mountains. God, but they looked close!

At one thousand meters, she plunged into the clouds. Fog whipped past the Naginata's forward screens, completely disorienting her. The plummeting 'Mech was bucking some now, too, as it encountered the turbulence of a growing storm within the cloud. I thought this was supposed to be the dry season, thought Onishi, and felt a new twinge of fear. Suppose...?

She burst through the belly of the upper cloud layer. Green patched with ragged white spread out in twilight beneath her. Eight hundred meters. She was level with the highest of the mountain peaks. She fired her retro rockets, dialing up their thrust gradually. If thrust came too suddenly, the connectors to the 'Mech's backpack assembly could shred like paper. The effect on Onishi would be similar to a crash landing into those mountains at terminal velocity. Her descent slowed . . . to eighty meters per second ... forty ... ten ... Treetops groped at her feet. Her rockets were firing steadily now, gulping fuel at a ravenous pace, but slowing her headlong plunge and lowering her toward the surface of a broad, flat field. A quick glance showed her the vapor plume of three other Assault 'Mechs close by. Good. They'd not scattered much.

At fifty meters, she examined her chosen landing spot again. It looked like an irregular field covered with bright green vegetation, bordered by a tangle of swamp growth. She wasn't certain, but this site might be farther north and west into the Elbe Basin than she'd planned. Her designated DZ was further east on a barren slope along the flank of the mountain ridge. Still, judging by the lay of the ridge, she wasn't more than a kilometer or two off. Onishi began her final landing sequence.

Odd. From thirty meters, the ground looked peculiarly flat, with no depressions or irregularities at all. And the color ... Panic struck her like a heavy weight fighter’s blow. She was committed now to a landing, but she had a horrible premonition that the deceptively solid - looking surface below her was, in fact, the surface of a marsh or pond covered by weeds or algae scum. If she hit that at ten meters per second in her feet - first landing mode, the ninety five - ton Naginata would plunge straight to the bottom of the marsh, driving itself so deeply into the mud that she would never be able to free herself, and would never, ever be found.

She twisted her attitude controls wildly forward, sensing the pitch of her 'Mech through her neural helmet. The 'Mech splayed out, arms out, belly down, once again in the sky - diver's position she'd assumed after first ejecting from the DropShip.

The world stopped for that last, hurtling instant. If she'd guessed wrong, if that invitingly - solid swatch of land was, in fact, solid, her spread - eagled 'Mech would slam face first into the ground at ten meters per second. The Naginata would be wrecked, and she would almost certainly be killed.

The field swooshed up to meet her, and she fell into it with a roar like exploding artillery. The impact wracked Onishi against her shoulder restraints and left her gasping for breath in her helmet. Her 'Mech had driven through the surface of the swamp and face - down into the mud, of course, but her spread - eagle position had kept her from driving too fast, too deep. BattleMechs do not float. Nevertheless, she was not swallowed by the ooze. Driven by the full power of his 'Mech's leg and arm actuators, she moved, first one arm, then one leg, the other arm, the other leg. She could see nothing but sticky blackness through the Naginata's forward screens, now spread out disconcertingly under where she hung suspended from her pilot's seat, but instrument lights showed that her backpack was awash above the viscous mud.

Her headphones caught a burst of rapid speech, garbled but from a transmission close by. Good! Her antennae was clear, too.

"This is Razan’s Ronins Actual, down and in need of assistance." Speaking slowly and distinctly into the slender microphone suspended in front of her mouth as she scanned the assigned combat frequencies, Onishi forced the words into some semblance of control. God, there had to be someone down close by. She'd seen other Mechs near, just before she'd hit.

Right now, she almost didn't care whether it was Ronin or Snow Raven forces that found her. For the moment, everything seemed to take a back seat to simple survival.

"Razan’s Ronins Actual calling, down and in need of assistance. Does anybody copy?"

"Razan’s Ronins Actual, this is Scimitar Company’s, Black Dragon Lance 4."

The reply washed over Onishi like ocean breakers, leaving her weak with relief.

"I copy," said Black Dragon 4. "I have you in sight. Stand by for a cable."

Following carefully explicit directions from her rescuer, Onishi closed the Naginata's right hand around a tow cable that the other 'Mech fired across the back of her machine. In moments, Black Dragon 4 had braced the heavy cable around a low, spreading swamp tree more massive than any 'Mech, and Onishi was using the cable to work her way, meter by painful meter, toward solid ground.

It took almost half an hour to get free. Not only was the cable slick with mud and algae slime, but Onishi had the use of only his right hand because in its present configuration the Naginata's left arm mounted a Lord’s Light Extended Range Particle Projection Cannon instead of manipulators. At least a dozen times during that slow, wet crawl, Onishi wondered what she would have done had she been in, say, a Marauder or Shannon's Hitotsume Kozo. Without hands, she would have been helpless, and every movement would have carried her machine deeper into the ooze.

At last, feeling solid ground under her feet, she brought the Naginata up to its knees. Her rescuer, a hulking Grasshopper GHR – 7K, helped her to her feet.

"You're a sight, ma’am," the Grasshopper's pilot told her, "but I'm awfully glad to see you! I think I'm lost!"

"You're not half as glad as I am, pilot," Onishi said, her voice unsteady, her hands trembling slightly on the Naginata's controls. "Who are you with?" She'd already picked out the emblem of the Scimitar Company on the Grasshopper's right leg.

"Code group zero four. Black Dragon Lance, ma’am. Scimitar Company, Ronin Legion Battalion."

"Scimitar Company...that's the ‘Dragon Lady’s Company, right?"

"Right, ma’am!"

Onishi could hear the surprise in the woman's voice. Senior officers rarely knew the details of the units in their command, but Onishi was different. She'd spent long hours studying the stat sheets of all of her tactical commanders, down to lance level.

The Grasshopper gestured toward the east "I think we were supposed to come down someplace closer to that ridge over there, but I've been having trouble finding solid ground heading in that direction."

"What's your name, trooper?"

“Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Isa ‘Blaze’ Fuqua, ma’am. Number four in Black Dragon Lance, under Tai-i (Captain) Sicoe-Callaghan."

"Oh yeah, Terri Sicoe-Callaghan. Excellent Leader. Well, 'Blaze. What say we find ourselves a ‘Dragon Lady’. A Razan’s Ronin 'Dragon Lady', that is ... not the other kind."

"Yes MA’AM!"

The two ‘Mechs moved toward the southwest through swamp and open forest The terrain was not the impassable tangle of bogs Onishi had been dreading, nor was it as dry as the planetological tapes had suggested it should be during the local dry season. She finally decided that the pool where she'd nearly lost herself was one of a large number of small, irregular, and ill - defined lakes and ponds that sprinkled the entire upland stretch of the Elbe Basin. The name ‘Lost Lakes’ came to her, and Onishi realized she'd found at least one of them. Seeing a small cascade of rainwater shower from the broad leaves of a tree as she brushed past, Onishi remembered that even during the dry season, it rains periodically in a jungle. The lakes would be larger and deeper now, the ground softer, so soon after a tropical rainstorm.

The mud sucked at the feet of her Naginata with every step Onishi took. If this was dry weather, she decided to definitely take a pass on visiting the Elbe Basin during the rainy season.

WORD COUNT 1851

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE







DC-DR-06-02 #14

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins Main LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1330 hours Local

"Understood Kiridashi Actual." Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi Razan worked hard at sounding professional over the radio as she clamped down on her impatience to get into action. Her heart hammered in her chest and she could feel a physical need to get to grips with her foe that went beyond the usual excitement she felt before battle. It was taking all of her self - discipline not to charge forwards straight into the midst of the enemy. She took a deep breath and forced her voice to remain steady before transmitting again.

"Black Dragon and Fire Dragon lances will form a line on my Naginata. Enemy at binary strength, 2km and closing. Advance and destroy, on my mark." Onishi ordered in short tense bursts. Pushing forward on the throttle she brought her jungle liveried Naginata up to a measured walking pace, beside her Fire Dragon Lance kept a tight formation while a short distance away to her left Tai-i (Captain) Terri Sico-Callaghan led Black Dragon Lance in her 70 ton Warhammer.

"Oni, you ok?" Sho-sa (Major) Owen Callaghan used a laser link to communicate with Onishi, concern obvious in his voice.

"Not particularly." Onishi replied, grateful that her Battalion XO had used a private channel. "Look if I do anything stupid you take over, get the rest out."

"It won't come to that." Owen replied evenly. "You'll be fine, we'll be fine."

Onishi wasn't so sure, even as she continued the advance she could feel her control slipping away moment by moment. She barely noticed as the battered remains of Red Dragon Lance retired behind her command or as Dragon’s Lair and Wind Dragon Lances came into her rear and moved up in support.

"Ronin Actual, this is Red Dragon Leader. Dragon’s Watch Lance is skirmishing on the otherside of the woods, a Ryoken, an Uller, and a Shadwcat." Jing radioed. If Onishi noticed she gave no response, it was left to Terri to acknowledge the report.

"Ma’am, are you alright?" Terri tried to raise Onishi via a laser line, getting no response Terri switched to her husband frequency. "Owen is she okay?"

"Not sure." Owen replied, sounding somewhat guilty.

"We need to pull back or you need to take over." Terri responded forcefully.

"No time." Owen sounded resigned as the line of assault ‘Mechs entered the woods passing through the skirmish line of Dragon’s Watch Lance.

"Five enemy contacts, a Demios unknown configuration, a Dark Crow Prime, a Stormcrow Prime, a Viper B, and a Kit Fox A, 600 meters out, heading 270 degrees, wood line, withdrawing." Shannon rattled off her contact report as the assaults passed her by, her lance had got the worst of the skirmish, but had at least maintained contact with the enemy.

"Roger." Terri responded, internally she fumed with frustration sensing the danger they were in with an unresponsive commander. Ahead the Clan ‘Mechs had withdrawn deeper into the woods, out of sight. The Ronins continued their steady advance across the open ground and Terri's sense of unease only deepened at the lack of enemy response. "Where are they?" she lasered across to Owen just before the world lit up. The remaining 9 mechs of the Clan Snow Raven Binary step forward as one, having waited for the Ronins to enter their killing ground a mere one hundred eighty meters away, before opening fire. Terri cursed out loud as a Gauss Rifle slug tore in her ‘Mechs right arm. Returning fire, she flicked on the radio. "All Lances, fall back, repeat fall back."

To Onishi the first shot was like a veil lifting before her eyes, all her doubts and fears fled leaving behind cold fury and an intense determination to defeat the enemy before her. Instinctively she recognised the trap, that the medium lances would be cut to pieces trying to retreat across the open ground and her assault lances would take a serious pounding so that left only one option for survival, for victory.

"No! Ronins, follow me! Advance!" She shouted across the battlenet as she pushed her ‘Mechs throttle up to the stop, wide open. Onishi briefly heard Terri swear across the net, she paid no attention. "Wind Dragon, Dragon’s Lair, flank right, now." She ordered the light lances up in support as she singled out a Vultre as her target. Bringing up his ER PPC arm, Owen fired a full blast from his double barreled PPC before activating the release ‘Mechanism, freeing up the battle fist for close combat. Behind him the rest of Dragon Sword swept forward, the impetuous charge catching the Clan ‘Mechwarriors off guard. To Onishi’s right, Sho-ko (Master Sergeant) Arai ‘Tokoyo’ Chickamoto’s Ha Otoko of Dragon’s Claw Lance smashed into a Kit Fox, neatly severing its right leg with a well - placed kick, to her left Terri led Black Dragon Lance right into the midst of the enemy line, matching them volley for volley. Ignoring repeated laser impacts. Onishi closed on the Vulture, firing lasers and LRMs as she did so. The enemy pilot tried to pull back to open the range, but the tight terrain of the wood hamstrung him as Onishi relentlessly advanced. Her two Hatamoto pilots combine their firepower on her target as well, raking her enemy with weapons fire, Yorinaga struck out with his ‘Mech's fists, pounding on the Vulture's chest as it was rocked by the impact of his twin SSRM packs. Again and again he lashed out, until finally his left battle fist penetrated the protective armor over his enemy's right torso. A blinding flash illuminated their corner of the battlefield as the Vulture's LRM ammo ignited, throwing it to the side. To Onishi's shock, the Vulture tried to struggle to its feet. She growled as she kicked the fallen ‘Mech, fatally damaging its reactor and putting it out of action for good.

Onishi scanned for another target as quickly checked the progress of her troops. Black Dragon 2's Caesar was down as was Dragon’s Lair 3's Locust while another four of the Ronin’s ‘Mechs were badly damaged. But, the Clan ‘Mechwarriors were in full retreat, leaving three of their number behind in the woods.

"We've got them now, after them!" Someone shouted over the battle net.

"This is Razan’s Ronin Actual, hold you position!" Onishi shouted the order across the radio. The Clan ‘Mechs were all lighter and faster than her own, a reckless pursuit would leave them open to another ambush. "Form on my ‘Mech, we're going for the 20th Pesht Regulars. Wind Dragon lead the way. Have we been able to get a location or a sit rep on Dragon’s Eye yet?” Onishi key the last part to both her company commanders only.

WORD COUNT 1174

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE






DC-DR-06-02 #15

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1305 hours Local

The sky above Stapelfeld's southern continent was its usual clear self this time of year. The rugged, heavily forested hills and valleys that filled up the country side provided a clear view of the early afternoon sky. A casual stargazer would have seen the usual constellations that filled up Stapelfeld’s sky. The curving set of stars that made up the heavens. The comforting, never moving, off - centered 'X' , known as the Archer, that was the friend of nocturnal travels ever since man stepped foot on this planet also stood in his usual place in the heavens. At this time of year, night fall came late, but it would still stay warm enough that anyone who cared could have watch the sky well into the evening. Today, just briefly, there was a new constellation.

Four new stars lit up the heavens, growing brighter even despite the sunlight. Just as soon as they appeared, what looked like four smaller stars sprouted forth, falling quicker than the rest. Anyone who was used to the centuries of continuous warfare would quickly have realized that those stars were not celestial visitors from the sky. Rather than stars, these were Dragon’s Eye drop pods, and they were heralds of war. Sho-i (Senior Lieutenant) Tushio ‘Huskie’ Sakai quickly clutched his gyroscope controls in, bringing his plunging Tessen to an upright position. Dragon’s Eye lance was coming in hot, ready to defend the rest of Razan’s Ronins Regiment's drop zone. Firing off his strap on rockets at the last two hundred meters, his ‘Mech came to a heavy, but acceptable landing. Quickly scanning his immediate surroundings, Sakai flexed his jaw, opening up his mic to the rest of his lance. "Dragon’s Eyes, Report!"

"Dragon’s Eye Actual, this is Dragon’s Eye 2, landing complete and sector secured," Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Fred ‘Dachshund’ Hanser's voice floated into Sakai's speakers. Sakai's callsign was 'Actual' as the head of the lance, the rest of the members were Dragon’s Eyes 2 - 4. The other members of the team likewise radioed their successful landing and lack of enemy presence in their zones of control. There was Hanser in his Raven; Gunsho (Sergeant) David ‘Akita’ Drake aboard the Javelin; and Go-chu (Corporal) Troy ‘Pitbull’ Vassik piloting the Jenner.

"Alright Dragon’s Eyes, follow on forces landing in ten minutes. You know your patrol points. Push out five hundred meters and report any findings." As the rest of the lance roger’ed up, Sakai pushed his ‘Mech forward. As the lance with the lightest net weight and fastest machines, Dragon’s Eye lance was typically assigned to reconnaissance duty. The Raven, Javelin, and Jenner were tailor made for it, and his Tessen could be surprisingly quick with its Vlar 300 XL fusion engine. If there was a threat, the Dragon’s Eyes would find it before Scimitar or Kiridashi Companies had to deal with it. Interstellar war was a peculiar thing. Unless it was a key world, few planets had the in depth radar facilities to track a few dropships landing in a random location. While it was almost certain the Snow Ravens knew the Razan’s Ronins had arrived inside the system, it was doubtful they knew precisely where they had landed. Even more, the defenders instruments most likely gave an estimate for the force that was now invading their world, but there was no way to know exacts. Either way, Dragon’s Eye lance would make sure any potential defender wouldn't get the first shot on the diversionary force.

Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Hanser moved his Raven forward through the dense trees surrounding the clearing that was soon to be filled with dropships. He was piloting by instrument and feel as much as by what he viewed outside his cockpit. Everywhere he scanned, his right hand ER Medium Lasers followed, a much more potent weapon in these close in quarters than his chest mounted short range missile luancher could be. The Raven was a robust, scout ‘Mech on the upper fringes of the light class, tailor made for this sort of operation. Few things could hide from his C – Apple Churchill tracking and targeting computer and whatever he found, short of a heavier ‘Mech, he could quickly dispatch. If he did run into something bigger, he could quickly get away and meet up with the rest of Dragon’s Eye. The landing zone was divvied up into a four - way circle, each of the Dragon’s Eye ‘Mechs covering a quarter. Hanser was moving east, scanning roughly five to six o’clock. Sakai was directly behind him, leaving Vassik to his right and Drake to his left. As the four ‘Mechs searched for any possible threat, they maintained clipped, focused reports.

"Dragon’s Eye 4 here", the light voice of Vassik broke open over the com system. "There's no good trails here, that must have changed since the last satellite pic. Anything smaller than Dragon’s Eye 3 is gonna get stuck pretty bad".

Sakai's voice came through, the man's deep, tobacco - spanned voice a stark contrast to Vassik's lighter tone. "Roger Dragon’s Eye 4, keep scanning, there's still enough cover there that PBIs or scout ‘Mechs could get the drop on us."

As the loyalist Andurian reached the limit of his patrol route, he crouched his Jenner down, lowering its 35 - ton body effortlessly to the loamy soil as he settled his machine, the noon sky grew increasingly bright behind him. The Ulvenwald had landed, unopposed and ready to unload its conventional forces. It would take almost a half hour for the other 8 ‘Mechs to arrive, and a full hour to unload the 8 APCs and tanks of Steel Dragon Battalion, the 10 VTOLs and the 25 vehicles of the MWR Battalion to disembark and be ready to move. Dragon’s Eye would stay in their positions, being sure to prevent any surprises.

As he waited, Hanser absentmindedly fingered with the small cloth bag around his neck. Inside were various tokens he collected over the years. It was a tradition from his home world and a tradition common to Andurians. Outsiders might question how the special force battalion would trust a man from the renegade duchy, but they would be quickly corrected. Not by Hanser himself, he seldom felt the need to defend himself, but by the rest of Kiridashi Company. A sharp word, or more rarely a sharp hook would shut down anyone who thought they could question the loyalty of the small, quiet man.

WORD COUNT 1137

Name: Owen Callaghan
Callsign: ‘Kestrel’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Battlemaster IIC BLR – IIC - UK
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Ronin Legion Battalion XO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE





DC-DR-06-02 #16

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins Bivouac & Main LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1600 hours Local

Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi ‘Rough Ryder’ Razan parked her ‘Mech near the Ronin’s Daimyo Mobile HQ which was in turn set up in the shadows of her FlagShip, the Overlord Class Heaven Scent. She donned her Mechwarrior cooling suit over her naked body before dismounting through the head’s access hatch. Climbing down a rope ladder, that dangle from the cockpit, she had to navigate her footing through several wrist size cables snaking to and from the Daimyo. She nodded to a Ronin’s MP who was standing guard outside the door as she entered. The Daimyo already had its sides extended out to full length and the holo tank inside was up and receiving data already.

She had called a mandatory High Command Staff meeting with her five Battalion heads plus the two new comers. They all were present, showing varying degrees of fatigue and exhaustion, even Dai-i (Commander) Georgi Dragonov, the RF MacCreary’s Commanding Officer, had shuttled down from orbit. He had left the MacCreary in the very capable hands of his Executive Officer, Sho-sa (Force Commander) Neseema Mavis. Onishi’s Regimental XO, Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka ‘Iceman’ Kintaro, looked the worse for wear. He had come in full Kage Battle Armor, minus his helmet, of course. He still fumed at her because he didn’t understand why she had aborted his call for an extraction from the botched Travis airport mission. She hadn’t had an opportunity to discuss why with him just yet. He’d just have to trust her. The newcomers were Tai-sa (Colonel) Luke Hartman of the 20th Pesht Regulars and Tai-sa (colonel) Johiro Wakamoto of Johiro's Mercenary Regiment. The Ronins had successfully located both commands and had escorted them back to the Ronin’s Bivouac.

“Alright, you guys know the routine. I need a no bullshit assessment and sit reps from all of you. Owen, you first and then on down the line.” Onishi learned that they had already lost two ‘Mechs in their initial engagement with the Snow Ravens and eight aerospace fighters. Six ‘Mechs were heavily damaged and one Small Craft. An Aurora Class DropShip had been utterly destroyed and one Union Class DropShip had suffered serious damage and had twenty seven KIA’s recorded. Another four Ronins from the DEST Battalion had lost their lives in the line of duty but six of the eight AeroSpace pilots had been recovered.

Her Ronins were off to a terrible start for this campaign. She sighed aloud. She wanted to cry but held back the emotional tidal wave that had welled up inside her.

“Okay, first things first.” Onishi began, visibly shaken. “Reid, I want you to divide our medical staff up evenly; two doctors to each command with supporting Medics and MedTechs. Until we can get a more permanent solution, ie the Military Base at Travis, pull GESV Bunkers from the Ronin’s Dormitory Lance for housing and distribute one to the 20th, one to Johiro’s Regiment, keep one for our people, and the fourth one for the maimed and injured whose conditions would deteriorate if they were exposed to the elements. Use the combat engineers to lay minefields from 10 kilometers out to 20 kilometers in the north and south passes. I need your command to dig foxholes, plow trenches, and construct defilades in strategic positions around the base and along the passes. Do what you can upon the mountains but the passes have priority. Get the Artillery and the DropShips camouflaged, too. We’re on ‘Battle Priorities’ on repairs and reloads. That means the units that require the least amount of work I want them up a running first. Each command’s units go into the pool. This is the unit priority order, BattleMechs, AeroSpace Fighters, Armor, Battle Armor, VTOLs.”

“What about conventional infantry?” The Sho-sa (Major) asked absently not fully thinking before asking the question.

“Infantry can’t be ‘Repaired nor Reloaded’ Sho-sa (Major). They’ll need to see one of the Doctors designated to them. You can hand the task off of dividing up our medical staff to Doctor Cocos or you can do it yourself. I don’t care which I just need it to happen.”

“Ma’am, yes ma’am,” dutifully replied Sho-sa (Major) Mediate.

“Dai-i (Commander) Dragonov?” Onishi switch gears. The emotions she had felt just moments before buried beneath her duty to the remaining members of her command.

“Tai-sa (Colonel)?”

“Upon return to your vessel, you’ll need to convert some of that 13,000 plus tons of cargo space aboard the RF MacCreary into a mobile aerospace fighter staging and repair facility. The 20th has eight or nine fighters that can still get airborne however they’re in no condition to go up against Clan Pilots. I need that rectified immediately. I’ll shuttle some Aero Techs and volunteers up to you. You’ll need to keep a flight of fighters on CAP over the Bivouac and a flight of Small Craft on ready five at all times. As the 20th’s fighters come online, they should be included in the CAP rotation and their information past on to our Ice Dragon Wing’s Commanding Officer. Keep an alert sensor tech on station at all times and notify him or her to keep their eyes glued to their screens monitoring the Carrak class Nestling’s movement. If it so much as points its bow in our direction I want to know about it.”

“Aye, aye ma’am”

“Sho-i (Captain) Taylor,” Onishi called on Daniel ‘Slinky’ Taylor, her VTOL Squadron leader. “With the Ronin’s present diminished capacity of aerospace sorties, I need your VTOLs to pick up the slack. You’ll need to perform longer range recons and perform them a little bit more aggressively. Let’s say from 20 clicks out to the 50k mile marker. Incorporate random routes and patrol patterns. We don’t want to become predictable. I will be placing the DEST VTOLs under your temporary command to help you achieve these goals. Like wise you will have operational jurisdiction over all of our MASH VTOLS to perform ‘Search & Rescue’ ops. Tai-sa (Colonel) Hartman and Tai-sa (Colonel) Wakamoto expressed some concerns about their being forced to abandon some of their comrades in the field. Get with them after we are done here to see if a rescue operation is feasible. Take into consideration how long it’s been, is it within the Chopper’s flight range, you know, those sorts of errata. I want any rescue operations cleared through Sho-sa (Major) Karen Tsang or Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kyle Kennebrew, our intel officers. And I want all operations flown with gunship escorts.”

“Roger that Tai-sa (Colonel).”

“Chu-sa (Lieutenant Colonel) Reece,” Onishi queued up the head of her Steel Dragon Battalion next, the vehicle battalion. “We need to use the drone scout carrier to establish a sensor net out to a 50 km radius in all directions; the full work up, seismic, magscan, infrared, and Doppler. Coordinate with Sho-sa (Major) Callaghan. He has a ‘Mech, the Tessen I believe, that can deploy remote sensors as well. I want VTOL and Scout Battle Armor coverage on this mission, too. The vehicle’s recon company will be responsible for keeping us alert to anything that gets to within 20 clicks of our main camp. Run’em in pairs; one Beagle and one Pegasus. Get that Packrat upon the highest mountain peak and deploy its satellite dish for additional early warning capabilities and aerospace fighter detection. I want predesignated artillery targets calculated for the north and south approaches to our Bivouac. Don’t worry about the east and west. I think that the mountain ranges are sufficient enough protection against attacks from either of those directions. Set up the Artillery pieces and the Teppo Mobile HQ away from our main bivouac over in the cul de sac along the western mountain face with redundancy to the Daimyo.”

“Acknowledged Tai-sa (Colonel).”

“Sho-sa (Major) Callaghan,” switching her focus to the Ronin Legion’s Battalion’s, the BattleMech battalion, executive officer. “You’ll need two ‘Mechs up and on patrol twenty four seven, twenty four hours a day and seven days a week; and another two on deck, hot, and on ready standby with a full lance in the hole. All abled body MechWarriors pull a six hour shift. I do mean everybody. That includes me. Include the ‘Mechs from the 20th in the patrol rotation as well. Select four ‘Mechs to stand guard over our DropShips for when we are out on missions. I prefer joint responsibility with the 20th and our own command, however; do whatever you have to do to make it work. Keep a close eye on repairs. In addition I want All our BattleMech assets kept Hot at ALL times, 24x7.”

“I’ll need security just for patrolling the ‘Mechs if they’re going to be left live like that,” replied Sho-sa (Major) Owen Callaghan.”

“Fine, use battle armor and infantry from Johiro’s Regiment and our own Mechanized Infantry Lance.”

“Will do.”

“Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro I need a patrol schedule for a squad of battle armor and a platoon of infantry to overlap the ‘Mech patrol schedules by two hours. The same goes for your APC but their schedules should overlap by four hours. I just don’t one everyone’s shift ending at the same time; it will be too easy for the Snow Ravens to exploit us in that half hour of shift change. The Infantry platoons you will get from Johiro’s Regiment and supplement your battle armor from their roster as well. Patrol routes should be staggered and irregular; zig zag, counter clock wise, send one scout out one day while the others hang back, the next day send the entire squad. Just mix it up. Stay fresh.”

“Understood Tai-sa (Colonel) Razan.”

He was still angry. He’d have to get over it. Until he walked a mile in her shoes he couldn’t question her judgement calls.

“Tai-sa (Colonel)s Hartman and Wakamoto?”

“Yes Kommander (Commander),” they both replied to Onishi in the honorific. They deferred to her as the overall leader of their combined forces. “You will not be relinquishing your commands. All orders for your forces will come from each of you, unless you opt otherwise; with the exception of when your units and the Ronins are in the field on a joint operation. All units will take orders from whom ever is in command, whether it be a Ronin taking orders from a Pesht Regular commander or a Regular taking orders from a Ronin Officer.”

“Indeed, Kommander (Commander),” was how Tai-sa (Colonel) Luke Hartman responded.

“As you decree, Razan-san,” was the more formal reply from Johiro.

“All right people. You all have your orders. Make them happen. Soonest. We’re going to need to hit those Snow Raven supply bases along the coast tonight due to the influx of personnel and equipment. We will roll out at 2300 hours tonight. Daylights burning so hop to it people. Dismissed.”

Onishi stepped outside of the Daimyo HQ and ascended to her still running ‘Mech. She needed some down time before they went back out into the field again.

WORD COUNT 1874

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE





DC-DR-06-02 #17

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins Main LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 1615 hours Local

Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi Razan felt numb as she went through her Naginata’s shutdown checklist and settled it back into it’s ‘Mech cubicle aboard the Overlord class DropShip, the Heaven Scent. The mission had gone better than it might, she'd lost 2 ‘Mechs, but gained 12 from the 20th Pesht Regulars as well as 9 AeroSpace Fighters along with a mixed company of Bulldogs and Hunters from Johiro’s mercenary outfit and a smattering of infantry and battle armor, too; assuming they all chose to band together under her flag. Better than that, they had managed to destroy 8 of the attacking clan ‘Mechs, one of the kills hers alone. Onishi knew she should feel elated, but currently, she felt nothing.

Slowly she climbed out of the cockpit and handed over her neuro helmet to Chu-i (Lieutenant) Faraz Sha, her Naginata crew’s senior technician, without a word, almost moving in a daze. Nearby, Sho-sa (Major) Owen Callaghan carefully extracted himself from a huddle of ‘Mechwarriors and moved to her side. "Careful Oni, let's get you back to your cabin."

Owen discretely guided his unresponsive Commander out of the ‘Mechbay, out of the dropships working areas and back to her cabin. At a loss for anything else to talk about he slowly ran Onishi through his observations, how the battle had gone, what had worked, what had not, who had excelled and who had not. He sat Onishi down at her desk, dismayed at the empty way she stared at the bulkhead, barely responding to what she was being told. The hatch slid open and Terri stepped through.

"Love, now is not the time." Owen half pleaded as he saw the anger written across his wife's face.

"Like hell it isn't." Terri snapped. She was going to continue when the sound of Onishi's fist impacting the desk caused them to both jump.

"Speak your piece Tai-i (Captain)." Onishi said in a tightly controlled voice as she met Terri’s eyes. Terri could see the barely contained fury in Onishi eyes, it almost gave her pause for thought … almost.

"You almost got us all killed out there Onishi. I need to know one thing, did you order that charge because it was the right call, or because you’re trying to get yourself killed?"

"Almost only counts in horseshoes.” Onishi countered. “ It was the only way to win." Onishi replied bluntly holding Terri’s gaze for a moment before continuing. "But you are right though, I did endanger the battalion today. I could have gotten everyone killed. But the only fact that matters is, I didn’t." She held up a hand to pre - empt Owen's protest. "However; while there is no excuse for my actions out there today; I need someone who is willing to call me out on it, willing to override me, willing to relieve me if that is what is needed. In Kintaro present state of mind, I need a second in command, jobs yours if you want it."

Terri stopped to think for a moment, this hadn't been how she expected this conversation to go. "Two conditions ma’am." She replied, Onishi simply nodded. "First, you talk to your nephew and niece, they need their aunt’s guidance as much as they hate to admit it." Terri ignored the loud intake of breath from her husband as Onishi glared at her, but Terri wasn't about to flinch now. "Second, you start acting like the indestructible half crazy bitch most of this regiment thinks you are. Do what it takes to keep us winning. Do what it takes to keep us alive."

Onishi glared at Terri for a dozen heart beats before replying. "Agreed. Tai-i (Captain). Dismissed."

Terri didn't smile, she didn't feel very much like smiling, but she came smartly to attention and saluted, before turning on her heel and leaving the cabin.

Owen turned to speak, but Onishi stopped him. "Go check on the rank and file." She moderated her tone somewhat, though the strain was still audible in her voice. "I'll live, but the troops need an officer out there fit to look after them. I want all the officers assembled in the clearing north of the Heaven Scent in an hour for lessons learned; we're not done here yet. Not until we get what’s left of the 20" Pesht Regulars Battalion off of Stapelfeld.”

Owen nodded, unable to find his voice, he brought himself to attention, saluted and left the cabin, closing the door behind him. Terri was waiting for him. They walked in silence until they were out of earshot of the Tai-sa (Colonel) cabin.

"She's not ok is she?" Terri asked her husband.

"No she's not." Owen replied sadly. "I don't know, she might recover, there still sparks of her in there. But, she's not dealing with the pain, she's just masking it and I think that's taking everything she's got at times."

"You were ranking; you should have stepped in back there." Terri pressed the point, still annoyed.

"Yes I should have. Sorry." Owen replied. "That’s why I told Oni to promote you."

"You what???" Terri rounded on him.

"I'm too close, when push comes to shove I couldn't tell my best friend girl she was relieved of command, when I should have. You can and if push comes to shove I think you will." Owen continued.

"Besides." He said, perking up a bit with a hint of a smile. "You'd do a much better job of leading the regiment than I would."

Terri wanted to be annoyed at her husband's attempt to maneuver her, but it was true that she hadn't been satisfied with a mere company command and had wanted her own battalion from before she joined the Ronins. She tried to maintain an angry façade but a slight half smile gave her away."You'll pay for that later."

"Oh I hope so." Owen relied playfully.

"I should relieve her now, give her some time to recover without the stress of command." Terri continued thoughtfully.

Owen grimaced. "I see what you're getting at, but it would break the Regiment apart. We have a lot of divided loyalties before we started, Steiner’s, Kurita’s, Davion’s, allsorts, and that was before we started absorbing stragglers from other commands. The only thing keeping a lot of the troops here is personal loyalty to Oni. If a Capellan tried to remove her from command, I'm afraid we might have a mutiny on our hands."

Terri scowled, she hated Owen's logic, but could see what he was getting at.

"Look at it this way. In the short term, the command team will cover for her as best we can and hope she gets better. Meanwhile you'll be building up your credit with the troops so if you have to take over, they will know you well enough to follow you, heritage be damned."

"Ok." Terri replied nodding her head. "I can work with that." As they continued walking down the corridor towards the ‘Mechbay, their conversation turned to the days ahead and the work to be done. However, as they drew closer to the ‘Mechbay they became aware of a reverberating roaring sound coming down the passageway.

"Does that sound like a…." Owen started.

"A riot, yeah it does." Terri was already running down the corridor as she replied. Rounding the corner, to her horror, she could see what looked like the best part of the mercenary regiment engaged in a mass brawl in the middle of the ‘Mechbay. There didn't seem to be two sides, rather multiple groups fought and shoved and shouted at each other.

"Idiotic Kurita warmongers, you'd see us all dead for your bloody honor."

"Don't call me a Kurita, I'm a damn Logandaler!"

"If you Steiner cowards could fight we wouldn't be in this mess."

Terri stopped and stared for a moment. "Oh as if we don't have enough problems at the moment." She complained to no one in particular before diving into the middle of the riot trying to separate the combatants. "Break it up, break it up!" Owen paused a moment to get off a quick message through the intercom before joining her. The riot swallowed them up as soldiers and mercenaries from across the Inner Sphere split along house and home world lines, each blaming the others for their current situation. A Pesht Regular shoved Owen from behind. "Capellan traitor." Someone shouted. He tried to turn round to remonstrate only for a Ronin tech to grab his arm and pull him deeper into the riot. A flying leg tripped him and he fell with a cry, looking up he saw a big combat boot coming right for his face.

"Idiot, he's one of ours!" Jing shouted as she forced her way over to Owen and hauled him to his feet.

"Jing!" Owen shouted over the noise. "What the hell is going on."

"No idea, couple of the mercenaries started to scrap with the Regulars and then it all went to hell." Jing replied.

The wailing of a siren cut across the commotion. Loud enough in the confined space to hurt their ears, it stopped the rioters dead in their collective tracks as they covered their ears and turned to stare at the source of the noise.

"ENOUGH!!!" Onishi shouted from high above on the gantry level. It had not been easy to drag herself out of her malaise, but the urgency in Owen's voice had spurred her into action. Now as she surveyed the rioters she felt her blood boil, but that was ok, anger was the one emotion she could still process. Swinging over the safety rail she slid down scaffolding leg and strode towards the gathered crowd. A few looked defiant, most looked embarrassed, no - one was willing to meet her eye as the crowd parted to allow their beyond furious commander through.

"Let me make this very clear. There are no Kuritan’s in this Regiment. There are no Steiner’s, no Mariks, no Regulars, no Davion's, no Capellan’s, no nothing. You are either a Ronin, or you are not!" She glared at the crowd daring anyone to contradict her. "Now if you want to fight in my outfit, then you are a Ronin and you will fight, eat, drink, sleep and if needs be, DIE as a Ronin. I will hear no more of this bullshit! If that is not acceptable to you, then you are not welcome in my outfit and you will be a passenger, in which case you will go to your cabin and stay there until such time as I decide to send you home." She paused for effect. " Tai-i (Captain) Terri Sicoe-Callaghan!"

Terri snatched her sleeve from the grasp of a bulky technician, she was splattered with blood, mostly other peoples. She snapped to attention. "Ma’am!"

"I want this mess cleaned up and all officers in the clearing north of the Heaven Scent in an hour. I want my Regiment ready for action in seven!" Onishi waited for that news to sink in. "Make no mistakes about it Ronin; Yes, we are going back out there; we are not done here. If you have a problem with that, there is the door. Get the hell off my ship. Tai-i (Captain), carry on!"

Onishi turned to leave, a look of pure fury fixed on her face as a challenge to anyone who might stop her. She waited until she could no longer hear Terri's shouted orders, or the NCOs relaying those orders, until she was well out of sight before relaxing a little, a very slight smile crossing her lips for the first time in six months. That had been cardiogenic; it had let a little pressure off, allowed her to think a little clearer. But, the smile faded, replaced with cold determination, it was one thing to tell a disparate group to stick together, she now needed to give them a reason to stick together. They would need a clear cut victory and soon.


Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins Main LZ
Friday July 3rd 3096 2300 hours Local

Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi looked out from the cockpit of her Naginata – a custom variant. The hulking, humanoid like 95 - ton monster carried two assault class, long range, missile launchers, one mounted on each shoulder beside its head. It carried a devastating Lord’s Light ER PPC and a Magna Mk VI ER Medium Laser in its left arm and three Magna ER Lasers in its right. Above the elongated torso of her ‘Mech, on top of it’s head, a Mk IV ER Small Laser swept left to right and back. Scimitar Company was moving out to the south, with the matching pairs of Heavy Wheeled APC Lances and Firestorm hover tanks from Transport Company following. They were all fully loaded with Battle armored squads and PA(L)s. Kiridashi Company was going to take up the rear of the formation, moving to their first relay point 50 Klicks away.

The MWR Battalion with their support vehicles and two gun trucks, the Artillery battery, and a lance of ‘Mechs would stay with the dropship, ready to respond when the need came. The two VTOL flights were already spun up and awaiting take off. The two remaining flights of aerospace fighters and the flights from the Small Craft Wing would take turns flying ‘Combat Air Patrol’ (CAP) over the advancing column. In the meanwhile, the soldiers of the Fire & Rescue platoon and Johiro’s Regiment were helping the dropship crews camouflage the four vessels that brought them here. The Fortress and Overlord Class Dropships had excellent firepower, but they were sitting ducks to a potential Aerospace attack. Hopefully, they would last the next three days without being detected.

"Alright, Ronins Actual here, keep it to 40 klicks and keep a 1 klick distance from the flankers".

"Roger that Tai-sa (Colonel), if they let anything through, whatever comes by wont be happy". Terri moved her company forward, and instructed the Wind Dragon Commander to take point in his Morrigan. The rest of his lance followed, a Pack Hunter II, Hermes and Spector moving in a staggered formation. It was a lot of firepower, and more than enough backup for Dragon’s Eye Lance, still conducting a patrol around the rest of the unit. It would be a long hard night of movement to their first rally point, but in the morning, the company would be in position to hit their first set of targets. The defenders wouldn’t see it coming and when the Ronins struck, they would strike hard and fade away quicker than the Snow Ravens could respond. Onishi would have preferred striking at Capellans, Lyrans or anyone other than the Clanners, but the Snow Ravens had made their choice. THEY chose war, and the Razan’s Ronins were going to be the deliverers of its punishments.


WORD COUNT 2540

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

User avatar
Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:34 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #18

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Lower Altitude
Leopard Class DropShip
Shambling Moon
Conference Room
Friday July 6th 3096 2000 hours Local

Gunsho (Sergeant) Dave Pusti tried to sit comfortably in the conference room's plastic backed seat. Traveling at over 500 kph everyone inside the Leopard Class DropShip, the Shambling Moon,
was uncomfortable. It was a necessity, as was the trans orbital hop the captain had used to deliver them to the Neustadt continent. The lack of natural gravity made the trip even worse, though again, it couldn't be helped. Twentieth Century science fiction, had made man dream of artificial gravity, and the long gone Star League had gotten close, but it was still a dream even to this day.

Despite the discomfort, Pusti focused in on the Intelligence Officer, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kyle Kennebrew, and the latest information from the main planet, Stapelfeld. Pusti's stocky frame and fit body could take the discomfort. His life depended on this information. Within two hours, he would be fighting for his life along with the rest of the Wind Dragon Strike Force he was part of. Like most of the Ronins DEST, the Wind Dragon Strike Force would never be mentioned in the same breath as some of the other Successor States' more famous covert ops teams. Even so, the ‘Mechwarriors and Ronin's of the Wind Dragon Strike Force were still some of the best warriors around. Hand picked from the Razan’s Ronins Regiment, each soldier was expertly trained and committed to completing the most difficult of missions.

"Most of the defending units around the target are conducting searches looking for the location of our grounded DropShips; However, we have been able to confirm that a Star of ri-star Snow Raven Pilots are guarding the facility and warehouse." The Intelligence Officer, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kennebrew was a tall, black man in his early 20's. Everyone in Pusti's lance knew and respected the man. Though he had been away from battle for some time, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kennebrew and his analyst team always gave the best they could in providing the ‘Mechwarriors the most accurate information possible. Pusti's sun burned arm adjusted the seat belt of his flight chair as the Chu-i (Lieutenant) continued.

"We suspect that this is a Star of ‘Mechs belonging to the 6th Raven Battle Cluster, White Bird Triad, called the Storm Guards. From what out collectors have been able to identify about the unit, it used to be a lot large, as in a Super Nova. The core leadership is all Wars of Reaving veterans and they fought for their Clan against the Clan Steel Viper Trials for at least two years. The Star you're likely going to square up against is the one unit left behind while the rest of the command is off continent trying to locate our Bivouac. Expect them to be tenacious fighters and unlikely to surrender the facility.”

"The most important factor is that the nearest population center is only 10 klicks away from the target. Remember, even a medium class laser can reach out to 20 kilometers, though we can’t aim that far nowadays. And our goal is not to create mass civilian casualties. We want to punish theSnow Ravens, not give Khan Sydney Magnus the excuse to retaliate future for the Kurita's invasion".

“Roughly about three years ago the Rasalhague Dominion and Clan Snow Raven were striving to conduct more regular commerce with each other. The two longtime associates had been transacting and dealing one with the other for the last twelve years but distance was making that more and more problematic. The Draconis Combine was restricting the quantity of Clan spacecraft travel through their domain, and restricting the allowed jump routes. So the Dominion and the Snow Ravens were left with no choice but to adopt periphery routes that were wrought with peril. The more risky routes used uninhabited star systems, risking breakdown and stranding in those systems. On several notable occasions, exactly that happened. “

“It was not just the Dominion that was distressed. The Clan Council was repeatedly meeting on Farstar, in Clan Snow Raven space. Clan Jade Falcon and Wolf lobbiest, often including at least one Khan or Loremaster, had to run the same gauntlet of routes to get there. The Snow Ravens had formulated ways of diminishing the threat, especially by creating a system of space escorts, but problems continued.”

“In due course Clan Snow Raven’s leaders became exasperated by this status quo, especially after constantly listening to Clan Jade Falcon and Clan Wolf criticisms about the matter. There was also another hindrance facing their Clan, one that endangered the Clan’s future. Clan Snow Raven had already industrialized their region to the point that it was capable of. Factories, shipyards, mines, farms, towns and even cities had been built up but there was no more room to propagate. The hitch wasn’t a lack of space, but a lack of inhabitants. Every lower caste men brought from the Home worlds and periphery citizen was being put to work but it was not nearly enough people to continue growing and to evolve. All of the caste leaders were in consensus, for the Clan to flourish they needed more citizens, by a scale of tens of thousands at least.”

“The Snow Ravens weren’t keen to wait generations for raising birth rates to put an end to the problem. They deigned a more immediate resolution just across their border. The Combine worlds were full of unsuspecting citizens. But the Spheroids did not recognize Trials of Possession, nor did they take kindly to the idea of trading away their populations. The Snow Raven Khans understood that they would have to go in and get them, but that would most definitely start a war with the Dragon. They would need cronies, to thwart the full potency of the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery from making Clan Snow Raven their primary target.”

Kennebrew’s intel was spot on. He was definitely thorough if nothing else.

Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kennebrew continued with his update, "The Wind Dragon Strike Force’s mission, along with detachments of other units striking at bases all across Neustadt, is to strike at the Forward Observation Bases and to get inside and download as much data as you can from their computer cores. While these blows, in and of themselves, are not supposed to be crippling to the Snow Ravens, it should stress the point that the Razan’s Ronins Command is hands off." As the intelligence officer spoke Pusti looked around the room at the rest of his lance and the infantry officer that was going to drop in support. Pusti was glad to see Chu-i (Lieutenant) Phelan Davion focused but not overwhelmed by that information. The tall French man copied down pertinent information and calmly waited for the slide the Kennebrew was briefing on to change. Many new Chu-i (Lieutenant)s could overload their own brains trying to process their responsibilities and Pusti was starting to appreciate the Chu-i (Lieutenant)'s poise. Like Pusti himself, Davion was new to Razan’s Ronins, but even the old hands were acknowledging his potential. As the Lance second, Pusti had the additional responsibility of mentoring and guiding the Chu-i (Lieutenant)and he was already feeling confident that the young man would develop well.

As Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kennebrew finished his portion, Phelan stood up and floated over to replace him. "Okay ladies and gents, it is t minus two hours until landfall. Remember, our 'Mechs will be doing a combat drop to be followed by the infantry later from a HALO jump. We gotta get it right in one, cause nothing hurts more than landing on the hard, angry, angry rocks. Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro, I'll let you focus on your Infantry platoon's preparation. 'Mechwarriors, I'll expect to see you in the loading bays in an hour.

"Once we've completed our preparations, we should have forty five minutes to wait inside the drop pods for the Shambling Moon to entire its target zone. During that time, we will be dropping from orbit onto the main continent of Stapelfeld. From there, we will proceed to the FO bases warehouse the Snow Ravens have used to prepare replacement parts for a sizable portion of their available ‘Mech forces. Once we've secured the facility, the infantry will follow on, load up appropriate salvage, hack into their computer core, and blow the remains of the facility."

Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion looked around the expectant warriors. Everyone knew their jobs, ‘Mechwarrior and Infantry both, but it was important to rehash the facts before everyone broke to their separate duties. Davion nodded to himself internally and concluded his litany. "Alright ladies, gents, lets get ready to pick a fight". The rest of the troops unbuckled themselves and floated off to inspect their ‘Mechs, weapons or in Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro's case, to tether back to the infantry Oo-Suzumebachi Small Craft and prepare his troops. Perhaps some would even get to catch a nap in the next two hours.

WORD COUNT 1537

Name: Owen Callaghan
Callsign: ‘Kestrel’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Battlemaster IIC BLR – IIC - UK
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Ronin Legion Battalion XO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE




DC-DR-06-02 #19

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Lower Altitude
Leopard Class DropShip
Shambling Moon
‘Mech Bay
Two Hours to Drop
Friday July 6th 3096 2200 hours Local

Ronin Technicians and ‘Mechwarriors were running around the Battlemechs inside the bowels of the 20th Pesht Regulars Leopard Class DropShip the Shambling Moon. Everyone was making final preparations for the drop and just about ready to wrap the 'Mechs inside their ablative shells for the orbital drop. Chu-i (Lieutenant) Phelon Davion looked over his ‘Mechwarriors to see how their preparations were going. Everyone had their own rituals before battle, and Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion had gotten to know them all in the few short months he had been leading his troops. Gunsho (Sergeant) Pusti was inside the open cockpit of his Hermes, a 30 ton sprinting beast and one of the lighter ‘Mechs in the Lance. It could reach up to speeds in excess of one hundred seventy five kilometers per hour in short burts with its Myomer Accelerator Signal Circuitry (MASC) engaged. Heavy Metal screamed from inside the cockpit, what Pusti called "mood music". The former scout was most likely going over the maps of the target in excruciating detail, wanting to know every inch of the battlefield.

In the next two bays, were two reconnaissance ‘Mechs with matching movement profiles right down to their jump capability. On a good day, with a running start, they could both vault up to two hundred ten meters, easily. The ‘Mech nearest the Hermes was the Spector SPR – 5S layout of the venerable 35 ton ‘Mech, armed with a large laser, a medium pulse laser, and a small laser. It was a trusted scout among the Lyran Alliance, and heavily armed for a light class ‘Mech. The ‘Mech next to it was something else all together. It was called a Pack Hunter II model light ‘Mech and was specifically granted to the mercenary unit the Razan’s Ronins. Dropping the Clan ER Large Laser, the Pack Hunter had an increased engine from Light Force (Standard) to a Light Force (XL) letting it run over 100 kph. It has dual arm mounted extended range medium lasers, a B-Pod in each leg, and an ER PPC for a weapon load out and was absolutely wicked in close quarters.

The pilots for these two ‘Mechs were almost as different as their respective mounts. The Spector pilot was rapier thin and obsessively going over the inside of the ‘Mech's large laser barrel with a towel. Heishi (Private) Kaska Zevahin was one of the few Andurians that had remained part of the Free World League when her Duchy had begun its succession. As was, the woman was quarrelsome and liked to drink, but a loyal and damn fine pilot. She would probably never get past Gunsho (Sergeant), but she was content to fight for the Ronin’s. The woman had a fearsome scowl on her dark, absolutely stunning features as she found some minute speck of dust inside the barrel of his ‘Mech's main weapon.

In the bay next to Kaska was the diminutive Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Romana Gronseth. The small blond woman working next to her tech, Gunsho (Tech Sergeant) Hank Adams, making final adjustments to her targeting computer. Like Gunsho (Sergeant) Pusti, Romana was scout trained, though Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion had to admit that she was likely better at actual reconnaissance than his second in command. Pusti tended to like ‘recon by fire’, while Romana was more than content to flutter between enemy formations to deliver the most up to date information. As they neared the objective, she would be piloting the Pack Hunter class Light ‘Mech and feeding information to her lance mates.

The Infantry supporting the Wind Dragon ‘Mech lance had already returned to their own Small Craft, the Oo – Suzumebachi Class Indomitable. They would be making their own preparations and jump to support Wind Dragon lance once the objective was secured. Already, the Joint assault force’s supporting Aerospace fighters, of the 29th and Ronins, were flying in advance of the two ships, ready to battle against any Snow Raven force sent to intercept. It was almost time.

Climbing up to the cockpit of his 35 ton Morrigan, Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion started his own last minute preparations. It was going to be a long, hard drop, but the Snow Ravens were in for a rude surprise. Of course, before that, he had a long, dull two hour wait inside his ‘Mech. Sighing, he closed his ‘Mech's hatch and began his wait.

. . . . .

Gunsho (Sergeant) Pusti looked out from the cockpit of his Hermes he had named Hellborn Thunder. The venerable ‘Mech was his pride and joy, and all his. He had fought a long hard two years alongside a Liberation unit inside the Lyran Commonwealth for the ‘Mech, but ultimately prevailed. During the course of the 5th Succession War, a form of neo - feudalism had arose, and ‘Mech ownership had become close to knighthood. Entire communities, like some of the villas back on Pusti's home of Sierra existed by maintaining, fixing and serving the ‘Mechwarrior and his multi - tonned mount. Not bad for a man who had started out as a dirty, grungy scout.

The last few hours had been exciting to say the least. Pusti and the rest of the lance had completed their orbital drop in good order and quickly reformed. Since then, they had maneuvered across Stapelfeld's Continental landscape as covertly as possible. To add to the confusion, the infantry Small Craft, the Indomitable, had done a series of false drops across hundreds of miles. It was an old tactic, armies have done it for millennium, but it still worked. Eventually, the Oo – Suzumebachi would disgorge its cargo of DEST Battle Armor and help Wind Dragon lance secure the Forward Base and warehouse that was the objective of today's raid.

Hopefully, Gunsho (Sergeant) Pusti mused, the subterfuge would work and most of the defenders in the area would be spread out looking for the attackers. One of the problems of interstellar warfare was that there were simply too many possible locations an attacking force could hit. That was why a single lance could wreck a disproportionate amount of damage that would have been unheard of back on old Terra. There were several high priority targets that the Snow Ravens wanted to defend, and no way of knowing that it was their forward Base that was the objective of the raid. The small raiding force would need that element of confusion if they were going to pull it off.

"All clear in this sector," Romana's slightly accented voice called out. "Five Klicks left until the target". She had been moving a kilometer ahead of the rest of the lance, providing intelligence to the force. Heishi (Private) Kaska was moving around the center of the formation providing flank security. Thus far, they had avoided the Snow Raven Solahma infantry patrols, but Romana had detected what was likely a ‘Mech unit or two several times. They had been able to avoid confrontation, but everyone was nervous.

Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion responded to the scout using the unit's callsign, "Roger Wind Dragon 2. Once we're two klicks out, hold your position until we're with you. Pusti and Kaska engage your ECM suites. We’re going in under cover and everyone hits it together."

The ‘Mech lance maneuvered through what passed for a heavy forest on Stapelfeld. The local ecology was a strange mix of desert hills and scrubby forest that provided some concealment, but not much cover for the armored behemoths. Here and there, there were patches of dense pine - like trees in the area, which the lance was gathering around now. If the pilots peered through their ‘Mech's magnified sensors, they could just make out the roof tops of the base complex they were about to strike.

"Alright lady and gents, here we are," the Chu-i (Lieutenant) spoke to his assembled team. "last checks before we hit it. We're going in hard, target the base defenses and call in the grunts. We need to be in and - " Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Romana broke into the Chu-i (Lieutenant)'s brief.

"Contact! Two signals approximately 3 klicks to the South east. I’m picking up a probable Dragonfly and Hellhound." The superior sensors of Romana's Pack Hunter Clan ‘Mech were more than capable of identifying the ‘Mechs opposing them. It was probable that the enemy knew the Ronin lance was there, but the sensor suites of those ‘Mechs had most likely been unable to identify what they were facing due to their Inner Sphere counter parts two ECM suites combining to make their ID’ing them that much more difficult. Either way, time was up for Wind Dragon Lance.

"Alright team, that's it! Everyone advance! We'll take the facility before the other ‘Mechs can get there and then use the buildings for cover. Let’s go!" Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion led the way, kicking his Morrigan forward to its maximum speed of well over 120 kph. Everyone else followed suit, with the two ladies in the slightly slower ‘Mechs, max speed of 110 kph, bringing up the rear. Now that the assault was on, it was time for the boys to come out and play, leaving the slower scout ‘Mechs in support.

The four ‘Mechs bursted though the tree cover towards the five buildings that made up the forward base compound. Combined, the facilities held enough parts and intel to provide a regiment worth of ‘Mechs supplies to last over a year. In the grand scheme of things, it was minor, but it was one of four separate facilities being hit at the same time. Losing a regiment's worth of supplies in the matter of days would be a nasty reminded to the Snow Ravens that the price of war with the Draconis Combine was too high to pay, say nothing about if ALL four missions were successful.

Gunsho (Sergeant) Pusti could see the other ‘Mechs closing in on the compound but there were over a klick and a half away. They wouldn't be in range in time to stop Wind Dragon Lance from reaching the compound. More importantly was the platoon of Solahma infantry in thinned skinned Odin Scout Tanks guarding the site.Eight Odin Tanks were scattered around the buildings, armed with Anti – Personnel Gauss Rifles. Most likely, several Solahma squads were inside the building as well.

"We got the PBI’s", Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Romana's voice broke out over the radio.

"Careful Shujin (Staff Sergeant)", Pusti replied,"watch out for any surprises."

“Don't worry Mi Amore, I'm faster than them any day." Romana was from an old hacienda in the Protectorate of Oriete. Like Pusti, her world had a strong Hispanic background, though Pusti couldn't actually speak Spanish to save his soul. Romana often teased him of it, and mildly flirted. Both were too professional to let any fraternization happen, but everyone knew there was an attraction.

True to her word, she pushed her Pack Hunter forward, followed by Heishi (Private) Kaska's Spector. Pusti and Davion added their Heavy Large Lasers and ER Mediums to the mix, but it was the slower ‘Mechs that were going to really put the hurt on the Solahma infantry. Heishi (Private) Kaska opened up with her medium pulse and small lasers against the front of the nearest compound. Infantry inside were firing AP Gauss Riffles at the ‘Mechs. The’Mech’s weapons opened up the walls of the building and the Spector brought out every infantryman's fear...fire. Kaska medium pulse laser hit a gas line and vented burning fuel into the walls of the building, suffocating anyone who wasn’t burned to death.

Romana was just as deadly to the Odin Scout Tanks assembled outside. While they poured their weapons into the modified Spector, none of them had the time to focus their weapons, which was the only real hope a conventional grunt had of downing the multi - tonned beast. She opened up with her ‘Mech's B - Pods, the full metal jacketed explosive bomblets ripping into the vehicles. The crews inside two of the Odin Tanks, ten men in total were simply shredded by the explosive bomblets. She followed up with her ER medium lasers and her ER PPC against the other Odins. In a matter of moments, the two scout ‘Mechs had snuffed out the lives of over thirty clan warriors.

She barely had time to revel in her victory when warning tones sounded from her ‘Mech's computer. She first thought it was the two Medium ‘Mechs closing in, but that wasn’t the case. "This is Wind Dragon 2, I got one, maybe two fusion engines warming up. No confirmation of - wait, got it, were looking at - "

"Pull back Wind Dragon 2 & 4, get some distance." The concern in Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion's voice was clear. It was also too late. Just as he finished speaking, two large steel doors ripped open. A 65 ton monster strode from one, a Cauldron-Born. It was followed by a clearly modified Shadow Cat, armed with a PPC in its left torso. The Cauldron-Born however was by far the clearer threat. Armed with an Assault Class, double rate, 280mm Auto cannon, it could strip the armor off almost any ‘Mech in a single burst. And it was point blank with the two ladies ‘Mech’s.

Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Romana and Heishi (Private) Kaska barely had time to respond before the beast was on them. Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Romana opened up with her ER medium lasers, melting two small pools in the ‘Mechs armor. Heishi (Private) Kaska kicked her ‘Mech forward instead, moving around the Shadow Cat as it came out. The Cauldron-Born faced the much smaller ‘Mech Romana was in, and opened fire with its massive weapon. The assault cannon sounded like a deep throated roar as the shells cratered the center of the Pack Hunter II[i] armor and Romana tried to keep her ‘Mech standing, but it was a futile effort.

Pusti could see from his position the sharp heat spike in the Pack Hunter, the clear sign of an engine being damaged. Just as quickly as it spiked, the engine shut down, preventing itself from erupting and annihilating the ‘Mech. Without its engine providing power, the machine simply fell in on itself. Pusti and Davion both turned their weapons on the 65 ton monster that snuffed the life out of Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Romana's ‘Mech. Chances were, she had survived the death of her ride, and the rest of the lance was going to ensure she had the best chance possible.

Pusti's [i]Hermes
spiked his heat at 150% as he fired all his ER laser into the Cauldron-Born, followed by matching firepower by the Morrigan. Pusti slapped the over ride button to the calm feminine sotto warning, ‘Heat Levels Critical. Imminent Shut Down’. The enemy ‘Mech staggered slightly under the damage, but remained standing. It turned the massive maw of its weapon towards them, but due to it’s staggering, its shells flew high and wide over the shoulder of Davion's Mech. Kaska continued her fight against the Shadow Cat, peeling armor from the ‘Mechs rear and legs. The 45 Ton ‘Mech ignored the relatively light damage of the scout ‘Mech and kicked into flanking speed, moving towards the veteran ‘Mechs of Wind Dragon’s Lance. Even more troubling, the Dragonfly and Hellhound had moved into range, adding their own firepower to the mix.

Wind Dragon Lance was getting into a tight situation. Already one ‘Mech down, the enemy forces had a slight advantage on the other three warriors. Taking down the Cauldron-Born was the top priority for the Wind Dragon if they were going to have a chance to win. Davion's Heavy Large laser and array of ER and pulse small lasers poured fire into the left side of the Cauldron-Born, followed by the ER medium lasers of Pusti's Hermes. He ignored the Shadow Cat for the time being, content to let it fire him up with the PPC and dual stacked SSRM – twin packs. The Particle cannon bit deep into the left arm of his ‘Mech. The Jolassa-328 Ferro-Fibrous armor could not withstand the punishment the hellish energy and simply evaporated leaving the Hermes internal skeleton and myomer musculature exposed and spraying actuator fluid.

The Cauldron-Born was not as lucky. The combination of heavy large and ER medium laser fire was too much for the armor of the enemy machine. Neither Davion or Pusti would know which one of them did it, but its torso caved in on itself, followed by the sympathetic destruction of its' auto cannon's shells. The 65 ton ‘Mech staggered and quaked as it was torn apart from the inside. Pusti couldn’t tell if the pilot had a chance to eject or not.

"Pusti, keep the 'Cat off of me! I need to support Kaska against the other ‘Mechs!" Davion moved forward, dumping fire into the 40 ton Dragonfly. Now that he was close, he could see the ‘Mech had swapped out its prime configuration of two medium pulse laser, short range four pack missile launcher and twin machine guns in its arms and torsos for a Plasma Cannon, a heavy medium lase and four AP Gauss Rifles, configuration G. It was a deadly one two punch the ‘Mech had and it was dumping shells on the Morrigan. Kaska had begun moving her Spector around the rear of the ‘Mech, hoping to penetrate its thin rear armor.

The Gunsho (Sergeant) radio his confirmation and moved against the 45 ton Shadow Cat, or ‘Cat as some called it. It wasn’t unusual for ‘Mechs to house configurations that deviated from the manufacture standard. Three hundred years of almost continuous warfare had made innovation a necessity, and the Shadow Cat's ER PPC was a deadly weapon. Pusti could see jump jets added to the torso of the ‘Mech, giving it the ability to maneuver quickly around the battlespace. At the moment, the ‘Mech staggered as over a ton of armor was peeled away by his laser fire.

Davion was standing firm in the middle of the battlefield. Pouring fire into the enemy ‘Mechs. He fired a quick squirt of small laser fire from his ‘Mech's left torso towards several Solahma infantry warriors moving towards the downed Pack Hunter. He would be dammed if some ground pounder would reach the possibly wounded Shujin (Staff Sergeant) inside. All of a sudden, his ‘Mech staggered forward as a horrific burst of fire tore into his rear.

Pusti looked on as his commander's ‘Mech stumbled. The Shadow Cat has chosen to ignore his ‘Mech and fire at the Morrigan's fragile rear armor. The Particle Cannon tore into the ‘Mech's armor, collapsing its left side ER medium laser.

"Keep 'em off of me Pusti!" Davion regained control of his ‘Mech, returning fire against the Dragonfly.

The Shadow Cat moved towards to grove of trees to the north of the compound. Pusti followed the ‘Mech, blasting into it with his weapons. It was the Shadow Cat's turn to stumble as its left hip actuator was fried by a ER medium laser blast. Pusti moved in for the kill, following up with a kick from his 30 ton ‘Mech. His armored foot caved in the side of the opposing ‘Mechs knee, driving it to the ground.

As the ‘Mech fell, Pusti ripped into its rear armor with all six of his lasers, confident in his ten double heat sinks being able to manage the waste heat produced. They didn’t. He slapped the over ride button yet again. The Shadow Cat shuddered and died as its center torso was melted out like candle wax. Pusti turned, just in time for him to be horrified. Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion was in serious trouble.

The Hellhound and Dragonfly continued to ignore the relatively minor firepower of Kaska Spector, focusing their attacks on the Chu-i (Lieutenant) ‘Mech instead. The AP Gauss Rifles of the configuration G Dragonfly cratered the armor of his ‘Mech's left arm, followed by the ER medium laser of the Hellhound. The beams deadly light pierced to power plants containment bottle inside the 35 ton ‘Mech's torso, causing a chain effect of destruction. As the ‘Mech died around him, Phelon Davion’s automatic ejection system ignited, projecting the young ‘Mechwarrior out. Pusti looked on in horror as the Chu-i (Lieutenant)'s seat carried him right into the cripple small lasers that had twisted to rest directly in his flight path.

The 1 - ton small laser hard point barely budged as Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion's seat crashed into it; however the ‘Mechwarrior deflected off of the laser’s hard point. Pusti cried out as he watched his friend, and his commander tumble off into the distance. He rushed forward, focusing his fire on the Hellhound. "Kaska, keep up the attack on their rear, but the ’Hound is mine!"

Kaska was nothing if not a skilled pilot. She rushed her ‘Mech forward, firing her large and medium pulse lasers into the now destroyed rear armor of the Dragonfly. The ‘Mech's right arm sagged as the support structure in the torso sagged under the onslaught. Following up her weapon's damage, Kaska kicked the already damaged leg of the ‘Mech. The Dragonfly stumbled and fell as its hipped seized up.

Quickly reversing her ‘Mech, Kaska tried to make it to the cover of a small hill behind her. It was the right move, and she almost made it when the enemy Hellhound turned from Pusti and dumped an Alpha Strike into her smaller ‘Mech. Kaska slid and stumbled under the onslaught but carried on. She almost made it behind the hill when the Dragonfly got back into play. It had taken a knee and reversed its remaining AP Gauss Rifles. A long torrent of fire ripped into the Spector, crushing and rupturing its gyro.

"Ejecting!" Kaska cried into her radio as her seat fired its ejection rockets beneath her. Pusti looked on has his ally sailed into the sky. It looked like a clean break, but he had a more pressing problem. Now, he was alone. Moving forward, he fired his weapons into the right arm of the ’Hound. The Dragonfly turned its fire onto him, caving in the left torso of his ‘Mech. Pusti was able to keep his balance as two of his six ER medium lasers failed.

This was getting dire. Two ‘Mechs against one was never good odds, but Pusti was confident he would win. Both of the enemy ‘Mechs were limping from actuator hits to their legs. The last burst from the Dragonfly did its damage, but Pusti was sure that the Gauss Rifles had belched out their last few rounds. While his own ‘Mech was badly damaged, most of his torso was unscathed and the Hermes was well known as a 'zombie' ‘Mech. It was time to show the Snow Ravens just what the Razan’s Ronins could do when pressed.

Engaging his MASC, Pusti sprinted past the crippled Dragonfly. The ‘Mech tried to turn towards him, but hobbled as it was, it was going to take several critical, long seconds to bear its lasers against him. As he rounded the Dragonfly, the Hellhound turned its ER medium laser towards him.

Sparks leapt from the right arm as the ’Hound tried to fire point blank into the smaller ‘Mech. Pusti gave a grim smile. His last attack had fried the controls for the weapon. "NOW YOU'RE MINE!" Pusti’s four remaining lasers carved deep into the enemy ‘Mech’s torso. Before the ‘Mech could respond, he raised his 35 ton ‘Mech's leg, driving it into the remaining armor of the Hellhound's right knee. The ‘Mech fell, struggled to rise, but Pusti followed up his previous attack with another cruel kick, caving in the side of the ‘Mech’s head. The Clanners deplored physical attacks.

Pusti moved around the downed ‘Mech. Turning his weapons to the Dragonfly, he fired away. The enemy pilot had to know that he wouldn't win. But Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kennebrew's assessment of the opposition was proving correct. The pilot was not going to surrender, no matter what the price. Both ‘Mechs stood firm, dumping fire into one another. Inevitably, the Dragonfly fell, its gyro scrapped to the laser fire of Pusti's Hermes.

As Pusti looked out of his ‘Mech's viewport, he could see the faint contrails of a passing Small Craft in the moon light. He was sure that was the infantry finally making their HALO jump. Sure enough, his radio crackled to life. "Wind Dragon Lance this is DEST Actual, what is your status"?

Pusti keyed into his comms unit. "DEST Actual, this is Wind Dragon Three, site is secured, repeat site is secured. There are three friendly Epsilons at this time, one likely Whiskey." Epsilon and Whiskey were the code words for an ‘E’jected or ‘W’ounded ‘Mechwarrior. By saying those words, it seemed like Pusti was condemning Davion to his fate.

He continued to look out of his viewport as some of the battle armor became visible. He sighed internally. Sometimes it was hard to know if it was worth it. This battle, these deaths, the enemy pilots, their infantry, likely Chu-i (Lieutenant) Davion were all supposed to stop a larger war. But the only reason Wind Dragon Lance was here at all was because the Combine wanted to fight an entirely different war instead. Pusti didn’t know the answer, but he did know that his place, his role was to be part of it. For good or for ill.

WORD COUNT 4328

NPC
Name: Dave Pusti
Rank: Gunsho (Sergeant)
Hardware: Hermes HER – 4K
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Scimitar
Lance: Wind Dragon
Assignment: Reconnoiter
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE


Name: Owen Callaghan
Callsign: ‘Kestrel’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Battlemaster IIC BLR – IIC - UK
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Ronin Legion Battalion XO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE








DC-DR-06-02 #20

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Oo-Suzumebachi Class Small Craft
Indomitable
Modular Battle Armor Bay
Friday July 6th 3096 2205 Local

"Sixty seconds until soft dock." Oo-Suzumebachi Class Small Craft’S pilot, Sho-ka (Master Chief Petty Officer) Renn 'Lancer' Rothwell reported, "All hands standby for contact."

"Suck it in people!" Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka 'Iceman' Kintaro looked at his soldiers from Alpha and Bravo Platoons, all dressed in light weight power armor either Nighthawk or Tornado. He had a third platoon, too. A command platoon; it was his Kage armored squad, another enhanced Nighthawk PA(L) Squad, a Combat Engineering Squad, and two Grey Death Scout Squads.

Gray Death Light Scout Armor was a radical take on battle armor, almost taking the ‘battle’ out of battle armor. Gray Death Scout armor was not equipped with any weapons and a single blast from a Medium Laser can obliterate armor and trooper. Despite that, its advantages had ensured continued production of Gray Death battle armor. An advanced Active Probe enables a scout squad to effectively locate almost all hidden units. Gray Death Scout armor features two fully - functional hands.

Though Gray Death Scout armor has no integral weapons, its hands allow soldiers to wield standard infantry weapons. While this does not allow for very much damage potential against hardened targets, a scout squad can be a serious threat to unarmored infantry.

The Nighthawk itself is little more than a heavily - armored Sneak Suit with an integral ECM Suite. While it only has 120kg of armor, enough to stop a couple bursts from a Support Machine Gun, its protection against small arms was considered excellent. The armor plating has stealth capabilities similar to an IR/ECM sneak suit, enabling Nighthawks to move undetected and making them more difficult to target if they are fired upon. The suit is also quite mobile, with integral jump jets allowing it to leap up to ninety meters at a time, and it comes equipped with an Extended Life Support system.

Though the Nighthawk has no integral weapon systems, it does utilize two Armored Gloves, enabling the trooper to wield infantry - scale weapons with no loss of dexterity (which the Razan's Ronin's typically use the Mauser 960 mated with an under slung heavy grenade launcher). Though the gloves are not very powerful, they are useful when a squad makes anti-'Mech attacks and allow them to utilize the handholds on OmniMechs to travel into battle mounted.

The Tornado G13 is custom-fitted to the wearer, which makes them unusable by anyone else without major adjustments and also means the user must maintain their physical condition. The advantages of the suit make up for this drawback, as it increases the wearer's strength, allowing them to hit hard and faster than unarmored infantry while avoiding the bulk of full Battle Armor. It also incorporates stealth armor and an adaptive Camo System which mimics the effects of a combination Camo/IR/ECM Sneak Suit, hiding the Tornado from all types of sensors. The armor is also good enough to stop small-arms fire and even heavy weapons like a Flamer from hurting the wearer. A built-in HUD system provides a wealth of information on the suit and surrounding environment, including low-light and visual magnification gear, though some chose to forgo the protection and electronic aids for unimpeded hearing and vision. The suit does not aid mobility in any way though, so a Tornado squad is no faster than a comparable squad of foot infantry, though it does include two connection ports at the waist allowing modified weapons to draw energy from its military power pack.

In a similar fashion to the Nighthawk it is based on, the Tornado mounts no integral weapon systems. It does, however, incorporate two Armored Gloves, allowing the wearer to use standard infantry weapons. Kintaro brought with him on this particular mission, a small laser equipped squad, a machine gun equipped squad, and the third squad has a David Light Gauss Rifle with their Infantry Assault Rifle being moderated to a KA – 23 Subgun. The gloves also permit the wearer to perform anti-'Mech swarming attacks and to use the handholds on OmniMechs. The suit functions without the gloves as well, so a trooper can remove them to improve his or her manual dexterity at the expense of protection.

The Kage has proven to be a success since its introduction, used by both DEST and regular line units; the latter tend to use them as artillery spotters for Arrow IV units, especially when using a laser designator.

As it is primarily geared towards intelligence - gathering and covert operations, however; this Kage suit carries a particularly heavy anti- 'Mech weapon; a Clan Extended Range Small Pulse Laser. In addition, it has an Anti - Personnel Weapon Mount on the right forearm, typically equipped with a KA- 23 submachine gun, which keeps both of the Armored Gloves free for other tasks.

The standout feature of the Kage is its Parafoil and Partial Wing assembly which allows it to make assisted jumps of 120 meters at a time and clear obstacles up to 24 meters in height; when not in use the wing retracts in order to reduce the suit's visibility and radar signature. This mobility is enhanced by the suit's improved stealth features, 275kg of Basic Stealth armor. Although providing barely enough protection against a single hit from a Medium Laser, it incorporates aspects of a combination stealth suit with electronic and infrared suppression capabilities and can run indefinitely thanks to integral rechargers. Not even Beagle Active Probes can detect the Kage suit thanks to these features.

This DEST squad has also outfitted their suits with additional equipment, such as laser microphone, Active Probe, Improved Sensor, TAG and an Angel ECM suite.

Kintaro gave his troops a last minute briefing. "Now we think this base has been abandoned for hundreds of years before the Snow Ravens moved into earlier this year, but take no chances. Stick with your Squad - mates and keep in constant radio contact with the Indomitable. The Kage, Combat Engineers, and Nighthawk Romeo squads will take the Control Room, Nighthawk Zulu and Tornado Gauss Rifle squads will take engineering, Tornado Machine Gun and Nighthawk Quebec squads will take the crew quarters, and Gray Death Victor and Nighthawk Xray squad will take weapons bay, Gray Death Yankee and Tornado Small Laser you have parts and storage, and Nighthawk Sierra and Nighthawk Papa you’re the ready reaction teams. I want a quick assessment of what happened to this base, and if she can be looted."

"Contact in 3...2...1...contact!" the entire Small Craft shuddered as it made contact with the tarmac, "Magnetic locks secure. Opening the outer airlock," boomed Captain Rothwell’s voice over the intercom.

The sound of metal grinding against metal filled the air as the massive airlock door slowly opened. There was a momentary rush of air as the atmosphere vented through the imperfect seal. The powerful halogen lights illuminated the walls of the main building to the complex.

The mission required that Wind Dragon deal with the base’s exterior defenders like the ‘Mechs and Solahma infantry and once they were taken care of, his DEST Team would insert via the Indomitable, deal with the base interior defenders, hack its memory core, locate the parts and supplies, and exfil via a 29th Pesht Regulars, WiGE, Koi Heavy Transport with the loot. The Johiro Regiment’s contribution to this joint operation would be a Triumph Troop Transport to provide covering fire in case it was necessary due to their lack of full AeroSpace Squadrons. All simply enough on holo – disc.

. . . . . .

"Something's written on the door." Kintaro shone his flashlight over the metal out through the Indomitable’s portal , "I can't make out what it says ..."

"It is in Russian." Tai-i (Captain) Ka Cheong 'Ghost' Chan leaned closer, "The way is shut ... it was made by those who are dead ... and the dead keep it. The way is shut. Lustrum." Chan was Kintaro’s second in command on this operation.

"Bugger this for a game of Lyran Hold’em." Gunsho (Sergeant) Patrick 'Geek' Lalitha turned and started to walk away, "I'll be in my bunk."

"Sergeant Lalitha! Front and center!" Kintaro hissed, "You're the closest thing we have to an expert on the Snow Ravens, and you are going to inspect the hydroelectric power plant whether you like it or not!"

"Oh man!" Lalitha complained as he turned round, "Just who do I have to shoot to get out of this chicken-shit outfit?"

"Did I give you permission to bitch, soldier?" Kintaro smiled as two crew members pulled the airlock open, "LET'S MOVE OUT!"

"Wind Dragon Lance this is DEST Actual, what is your status"?

Pusti keyed into his comms unit. "DEST Actual, this is Wind Dragon Three, site is secured, repeat site is secured. There are three friendly Epsilons at this time, one likely Whiskey."


“Roger that Whiskey Delta Three.” Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro responded. “ I’m only picking up two transponders. We may need a little help in locating the third one. Kashira (Sergeant Major) Yosuke Kimura,” he called on his Nighthawk Papa Squad leader, “take your squad and locate that wounded ‘Mech Jock first and have Heishi (Private) Dani Boldrini patch him as best as she can and get him aboard the Indomitable and then find the remaining two and get them exfiltrated as well. Sierra Squad,” Kintaro was now addressing Sho-ko (Command Sergeant) Melissa Ito. “Keep a watch on the door until Papa Squad is through and then you both follow us inside.”

That’s when disaster struck. On it’s first approach the Triumph crash landed. Well it didn’t some much as crash as it had to make an emergency landing. You see it was coming in to the compound flying at NOE or ‘Nap of the Earth’. NOE is a type of very low - altitude flight course used by military aircraft to avoid enemy detection and attack in a high - threat environment. During NOE flight, geographical features are used as cover, exploiting valleys and folds in the terrain by flying in, rather than over, them. Well the pilot inadvertently flew through a gaggle of geese, or whatever those big birds were called on Stapelfeld, but they fouled the engines so he brought it down.





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Coburg
Rhineland
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2210 Local

"Nothing on motions sensors." Tai-i (Captain) Duane 'Joint' Johnson, Kintaro’s overall sub commander of Bravo Platoon, "Then again, I'd be more than a little worried if we did pick something up..."

"Indeed." Johnson nodded before turning to Lalitha, "Which way?"

"That way." The NCO pointed down a dark passageway, with his active probe gain cranked up to the max "I think."

"You think?" Johnson asked.

"I've never been in a base this size before, no one alive has." Lalitha looked at the small Heads-Up-Display (HUD) screen built into his suits helmet, "But the schematics I downloaded from the RF MacCreary seem to indicate it's that way."

"Then we proceed." Johnson nodded.




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Cargo Hold
Friday July 6th 3096 2215 Local

"SIR!" Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Farra ‘Score’ Kawakami, the junior most member of Yankee's Squad called out as he pointed his laser - carbine through a doorway, "There's something in here!"

"Make a hole!" Kintaro jetted himself along the hallway, "What you got for me boy?"

"Look's like a cargo - bay, sir." Kawakami pulled himself out of the way.

"Could be something of value." Kintaro pulled a couple of light sticks from attachments on his armor. Bending them sharply to activate the chemical reaction, he tossed them into the cargo - bay. The room was instantly lit by a soft green glow as the two luminous sticks drifted ‘end – over – end’. " Gunsho (Sergeant) Ibrahim." He called out over his shoulder to Ralph, "I want you to take your Squad and go see what we've got here. I'm not asking for a full inventory, just a rough guesstimate will do."

"Aye - aye, Sir." Ibrahim nodded as he walked himself through the door, setting his halogen lamp to wide dispersal before setting it down on the floor behind him. He quickly sidestepped after passing through the doorway and swept the room with his M61A Laser Rifle as the other three members of Yankee squad made their way inside the hold.




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2220 Local

"This should be the place." Lalitha pointed at a massively reinforced doored covered in warning labels. He looked at the Geiger counter built into his suit, "Look's clean. Give me a hand with this."

With great effort, the ten PA(L) members of the team managed to pull the door open enough for a pry - bar to be slipped into place. Planting his legs on the opposite wall, Lalitha pushed his suits servos to their maximum lifting capacity, slowly opening the door far enough for Johnson to point his Mauser assault rifle through.

The flashlight attached to the weapons barrel illuminated a room filled with computer displays and keyboards.

" Gunsho (Sergeant)." He looked at Lalitha, "After you."

"Thanks..." Lalitha stepped past, already taking in what he saw, "Looks intact. Why the Snow Ravens left this base, it wasn't a reactor overload. The radiation levels would still be too high for us to enter."

"Can you restore power?"

"I don't know. Main - power is completely offline, but I may be able to bring emergency power back online as long as there is sufficient charge left in the batteries."

"Then I suggest you get started."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Control Room
Friday July 6th 3096 2225 Local

"This looks like the Control Room." Chan pointed his heavy laser pistol at a partly open door.

"Ok; I'll open it, you two stand ready." Kintaro pressed his feet against the frame and, taking a secure grip on the door, pulled it open. Chan and Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Vincent 'Lethal' Blanchard pointed their weapons through the door, but the room as completely vacant.

"Looks like no one's home." Blanchard pulled himself through the door, "Look's intact."

"This is really setting of my spider - senses." Kintaro shook his head as he activated his radio, "Someone, please tell me we're going to have power soon."

"I hear and I obey, sir." Lalitha responded over the link, "And the Lord said 'Let there be light'!" As if by magic, the emergency lights came on, illuminating the Control Room with an unearthly red glow.

"Very nice." Kintaro nodded, looking round, "How about everything else?"

"All good things, Sho-sa (Major), all good things. I'm going to need some combat engineers over from the control room if I'm going to get anything else up. The good news is that there doesn't appear to be anything wrong with the reactors. We need to restart them, but that's very doable."

"Time - frame?"

"Two hours, maybe four. Can't tell until I run a full diagnostic of the control systems. There's enough power in the batteries to keep the emergency lights going for a while yet, and I should be able to get the atmospheric scrubbers up and running. It'll be a lot easier to work without power armor on."

"Get started, WITH your power armor on." Kintaro changed frequencies, "Talk to me Ralph."

"It looks like he was they just received a recent shipment from their Touman unit on Farstar out in the Periphery." Ibrahim reported, "We've found something I think you'll like."

"Very good. I'm on my way." Kintaro cut the link and turned to Chan and Blanchard, "You two stay here and try and get some of the other systems online. Find the log if you can. I want to know what the Snow Ravens are doing out here and how they are planning to do it. Kashira (Senior Tech Sergeant 1st Class) Carlier," Kintaro said, addressing the Combat Engineer’s Squad Leader, Hannah Carllier, “Get a man on that memory core, Pronto.”

WORD COUNT 2757

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shawdow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

User avatar
Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:37 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #21

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Warehouse
Friday July 6th 3096 2225 Local

"It's a Mad Cat." Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka Kintaro looked up at the crate Senior Corporal Ralph 'Stack' Ibrahim seemed so proud of, and shrugged, "A really, really old Mad Cat."

"I know that, sir." The junior NCO sighed, "But look at the configuration - type. Prime."

"Prime? Isn't . . . that's a ..."

"... A Clan Timber Wolf. An ‘honest – to - god’ Timber Wolf! And probably in the same condition she was when she left the Allied Farstar Incorporated factory. We're talking advanced Star League era sensors, targeting and weapons systems. This baby alone is probably worth enough to re-fit all our platoons's and then some."

"Screw that. We’re keeping her!" Kintaro rubbed his hands together with glee, "I've always wanted a Clan ‘Mech. I even got myself simulator - rated to pilot one when I was a cadet. Shouldn't take me too long to get back up to speck."

"Sir, Clan ‘Mechs are notoriously hard to pilot and even harder to master. They're faster than most Inner Sphere counterparts in the same weight - range, and out - gunned IS Mechs twice their size."

"Yeah, but they're still cool!"








Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Triumph Class DropShip
Millennium
Friday July 6th 3096 2230 Local

Silently and with great care, the Triumph class DropShip, the Millennium, edged close to the defunct Forward Observation Base, her rarely used maneuvering jets swinging her round until she pulled up and sat ‘side – by – side’ against the building. A few more jets moved the Millennium closer until it was possible for a Ronin’s Combat Engineer to connect the two by a magnetic line, making it easier to move equipment and personnel between the two.

More lines were added, allowing the building to draw power from the Millennium’s fusion reactor. Slowly at first, the dormant complex came back to life, her running lights flickering on for the second time.



Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Coburg
Rhineland
Neustadt
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2245 Local

"Power is holding steady at one third." One of the engineers, Gunsho (Tech Sergeant) Jacqueline Clay, from the Ronin’s Combat Engineering Squad reported as she checked the feeds coming in from the nearby DropShip, "We are ready to reinitialize the reactor at any time."

"Ok, let's earn our pay." Gunsho (Sergeant) Steve Lalitha nodded, flicking a series of switches, "I just hope to God I'm as smart as I think I am ..."

The lights dimmed momentarily, and then came back on as a low hum started to fill the five buildings through the over head lighting. The sound grew steadily as the banks of dials and monitors spaced around the room registered an increase in power supply, but they all suddenly dropped. The humming dying away.

"We trip another circuit breaker?" Lalitha asked as the emergency lights came back on.

"That's a negative." JumpShip Heishi (Astech) Kieth Norli reported, "Something cut the power forward of building 3."

"Crap!" Lalitha hissed, "Send a repair crew forward to have a look and see if it can be fixed."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Control Room
Friday July 6th 3096 2250 Local

"I've found the log." Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Vincent Blanchard sat at the communication station, typing away at the main computer, "Base's name is the CB Lustrum, built by the Bolson Construction Company, 17th October, 2692. Last entry is 22nd May, 2818. Says here that her staff had to abandon the facilities when a seal blew on one of the Helium - 3 tanks supplying the coolant system. They were picked up by another ship in the convoy they were using as cover."

"Something must have happened to stop them from returning." Tai-i (Captain) Ka Cheong Chan looked over his subordinates shoulder, "The Star League would not have abandoned a base like this without good reason ..." There was the sound of movement from outside the main door, and both men spun around, drawing their side - arms instinctively. "Halt! Come forth to be recognized!" Chan ordered.

Chan’s order was met with silence. The two men looked at each other, Blanchard pointing at his eyes, then the door, signaling that he would investigate while Chan covered him. The Ghost Platoon Trooper nodded his agreement, leveling his anti – ‘Mech, Clan, extended range, small, pulse laser at the half open door, steadying it firmly with his off hand.

Blanchard gabbed got to his feet and began to creap towards the door, his Gauss pistol held tightly in his free hand. Edging closer towards the opening, he pressed his back up against the wall. Gun at the ready, he slowly peeked out.

"Aaagh!" He yelled, his face turning white behind his visor as he brought his gun round and fired it repeatable through the open door before hitting the emergency button that slammed it shut with enough force to snap a steel bar.

"What happened?" Chan asked; his gun still aimed at the now closed door, "Who was it?"

"I don't know WHAT the hell that was," Blanchard gasped, his heart racing, "But it sure as hell wasn't anything that I’ve ever seen!"

"By the unfinished book!" Chan grabbed his radio from his belt, "Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro, we have a situation..."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2255 Local

"Approaching the power distribution node now." Combat Engineer Go-cho (Technician), Merideth Ba reported, the tiny camera in her helmet sending back a grainy image to the fusion reactor room, "No sign of systems failure or overload."

"Can you tell what happened yet?" Lalitha asked absently, pouring over the reactor’s schematics.

"It looks almost like it's been . .. what the hell was that?" The image on the screen shifted suddenly, "Did you see that?"

"See what?" The second combat engineer in the repair crew, Gunjin (AsTech) Kabul Mollema, asked, shining a flashlight down the dark access tube, "It's just a shadow."

"Talk to me people." Lalitha looked up, the blueprints suddenly forgotten, "What's going on?"

"Sir, I swear that there's something further down the tunnel." Merideth Ba insisted, "Something moving."

"I'm telling you there's nothing there." Kabul Mollema sounded equally adamant, "It's just a trick of the ... SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!"

"HOLY SHIT! KILL IT, KILL IT!"

The voices became too confused and garbled; then the radio and video links suddenly died.

"Repair team one, report!" Lalitha grabbed the radio, "Repair team one, come in!"

"What is going on?" Tai-i (Captain) Duane Johnson sprinted across the empty space of the fusion reactor room, grabbing hold of a hand rail above the main engineering console, "What happened?"

"I don't know sir; I sent a repair crew to investigate a power outage in the first building." Lalitha pulled out the schematics, "Just here, ahead of building 3. One of them reported seeing something, and then all hell broke loose!"

"Can you show me the recording of what they saw?" Johnson asked.

"Yeah..." Lalitha rewound the tape and started to play it in slow motion, the sound muted.

The low light level and poor quality of the cameras distorted almost everything, but finally one clear image filled the screen. It looked basically human, but it had a head like a wart hog, with tusks coming out of its snout and the eyes were much larger. The arms were longer, double jointed, the legs looking almost the same. It look a lot like a battle armor suit, once upon a time, but it stood twice as tall, and moved a whole lot more fluidly than any battle armor that Lalitha had ever seen.

"By Kerensky's bones ..." Johnson looked pale and uncertain for the first time since Lalitha had met him, "It can not be."

"Tai-i (Captain)?" The Tornado Gauss Rifle Squad Gunsho (Sergeant) asked the Bravo platoon Tai-i (Captain), truly worried, "What is it Tai-i (Captain)?"

"An abomination. A perversion of all that the Jerome Blake stood for." Johnson took a step back, "Chyrsaor ... ProtoMech!"

WORD COUNT 1419

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shawdow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE









DC-DR-06-02 #22

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Control Room
Friday July 6th 3096 2300 Local

So what exactly are we dealing with here?" Kintaro rubbed his forehead, trying to fend off a headache, "And in words that we can all understand."

"They are, as Tai-i (Captain) Duane Johnson said, an abomination." Chan explained over the radio from the Control Room, "They appear to be ProtoMechs weighing in at somewhere between two to nine tons and stand anywhere from four to six meters in height, with the cockpit mounted in the upper chest along with some invasive modifications."

"Define 'invasive modifications '." Ralph asked, standing next to his CO with a worried expression on his face, "We talking bionic implants here?"

"In some early cases, that is as far as they went, but no, we’re talking ‘Bionic Implants’ on steroids," Chan began. “With their fusion engines, they can move considerably faster than battle armor but are more compact than BattleMechs. As such their agility falls somewhere between infantry and 'Mechs: they can move through most buildings with minimal collateral damage and can go from a prone to standing position in seconds. Like battle armor and 'Mechs, Protos can mount jump jets which further increases maneuverability. ProtoMech armor is more efficient in terms of its ‘weight – to – protection’ ratio compared to 'Mech armor due to the reduced surface areas involved and advanced composite material used in its construction; the heaviest ProtoMechs can boast almost as much protection as some light 'Mechs. Additionally, the Proto's small size makes it harder to hit, and even if it loses an arm or head the unit can remain combat effective."

"So we've got some crazy Clan science - fair project running around this complex, killing our people!" Kintaro shook his head, "And the best part is they're designed to operate with out their heads and/or arms in this environment. Stop the universe, I want to get off."

"We got a plan, sir?" Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Jimmy ‘Scar’ Pane asked. He was the leader of Zeus Tornado Squad, the David Light Gauss Rifle Squad.

"I want your Squad and Zulu Squad to sit tight down there. They take the engine room, and they can override the environmental controls and contaminate the base’s atmosphere and kill us all in a matter of seconds." Kintaro took a deep breath, centering his thoughts, "Chan, Blanchard; stay put. The Control Room is, after the engine room, the most easily defendable part of the building complex. I'll take Ralph's people, both reactionary squads, and anyone else we can scrounge up from our strike team and start a search pattern going from building to building until we find these things and put’em down. What I want is a hard - target search of every room, closet, vent, crawlspace, duct, storage bay and foot - locker in this complex. I want check - points at the entrances and exits. The last thing we want is this thing getting onto either the Indomitable or the Millennium."

"You might want to have the Ice Dragon’s aerospace fighters check the outer lying areas." Johnson suggested, "While these, things, can survive in a vacuum for at least a while, they can not make hyperspace jumps. There must be a Snow Raven JumpShip in this system, and there is probably a breaching pod attached somewhere along the ship’s hull."

"I'll take that under advisement." Kintaro acknowledged, "Ok people, let's move like we've got a purpose!"




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2305 Local

"Phuk all this." Lalitha sat back in the chief engineer's chair, "Someone put a brew on."

"What?" Markus Rivers looked at him like he'd just said that black was white, he was a Sho-ko (Command Sergeant) from Zulu Squad. "How can you even think about a hot beverage at a time like this."

"The Draconis Combine was built on cups of tea, and if you think I'm going to war without one, sensei, you're mistaken." Lalitha moved close so the other engineers couldn't overhear him, "Look, these guys are good, dependable combat engineers. But they've just seen two of their friends taken apart by the robot from hell out there, and they need something to keep their mind off of impending doom."

"Never the less, we need to fortify our position." Tai-i (Captain) Johnson hissed, "The Sho-sa (Major) was right, the Chrysaor ProtoMechs will try and gain control of this room, and we have eight carbines and as many side arms.” He was now addressing Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Pane. “You have fought an irregular war, I havn’t. You know best how to prepare our defenses. Unless you would rather sit here, drinking tea,” that barb was meant for Lalitha. “..and wait for the ProtoMechs to kill us like they did the two techs you sent to investigate the power node."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you may have a point." Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Donald Miller looked round, "We have a few oxyacetylene cutters that I can rig to give someone a nasty surprise. Most of the guys are carrying their standard tool kits, so we're unlikely to run out of bladed weapons any time soon. I'd be tempted to try and make a few Molotov - cocktails, but those are tricky buggers to use in without prior experience."

"You truly know a lot about explosives." Johnson looked at the Zeus Squad Gunjin (Private 1st Class) with a newfound respect, "I had no idea your knowledge was so widespread."

"Well, I'm one of those fortunate people who like my job, sir." Miller admitted, "Got my first chemistry set when I was seven, blew my eyebrows off, we never saw the cat again, been into it ever since."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2315 Local

"Ok people, grab what you want and let's get going!" Kintaro looked at the hunting party he'd been able to put together.

Aside from Ralph and his Gray Death Squad, he'd managed to round up Gunsho (Sergeant) Bianca Koman, Go-cho (Corporal)s Katherine Sulaiman and Frida Roesdahl from Kashira (Talon Sergeant) Barbara Ogawa's Tornado Machine Gun Squad, as well as Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Anthon Nordal and Heishi (Private) Eric McCarthy from Chu-i (Lieutenant) Betsi Ichikawa’s Nighthawk Xray Squad, the two reactionary Nighthawk squads headed up by Sho-ko (Command Sergeant) Sho-ko Melissa Ito and Kashira (Talon Sergeant) Yosuke Kimura and a small number of off duty crewmembers from the Indomitable. Heishi (Junior AsTech) Keith Norli had been pressed into guarding a prisoner they had found. Kintaro needed everyone who could handle a weapon, and the young woman seemed relatively docile, at least for the time being.

Everyone had assembled in the central building’s reception area; sorting through what small arms they had, trying to decide what to take. Kintaro had vetoed anything with explosive, high velocity or armor-piercing rounds. The last thing they needed was a stray shot holing the walls and damaging the electronics before they had a chance to hack the memory core. He was a little hesitant at the number of vibro - blades the non - combatants were carrying, but the look on their faces was enough to stop him from commenting. It was their friends that the ProtoMech had killed, and they were out from some serous payback.

"Ok, this is the plan, so listen up." Kintaro stood before the assembled posse, feeding shells into a massive combat shotgun one at a time, "We head to the center of the building by the main access way. We then search every room between there and the first first auxillary building, one by one, sealing them off after us. And I want you to look everywhere anyone and anything could be hiding. Then we move forward to the next building, and repeat the process. When we reach the Control Room, Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Nordal and Heishi (Private) McCarthy will stay there under Tai-i (Captain) Chan’s command..."

"With all due respect, sir," McCarthy looked at his CO, a laser carbine cradled in his arms, "we'd rather go to the engine room with the Shujin (Staff Sergeant)."

"When I want your opinion, solider, I'll give it to you. This is a Mercenary unit, not your high school debating society!" Kintaro snapped back, before turning and walking into the hallway, "Now let's move out. I want this base free of ProtoMechs by breakfast!"

WORD COUNT 1466

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shadow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE







DC-DR-06-02 #23

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2320 Local

"So, we sit tight and wait for the cavalry." Gunsho (Sergeant) Steve Lalitha sat down at the chief engineer's station and secured his ammo belt around his waist, "I can live with that."

"There is something I have wanted to ask you since we first met." Asked his Tornado Gauss Rifle Squaddie, Gunsho (Sergeant) Daniel Kogawa, as he stood leaning against the main console, "How did someone with your background end up in the Razan’s Ronins?"

"You want to know my story?" Lalitha shrugged, "What the hell; not like I've got anything better to do." He sighed and stretched his arms above his head, "Well, to start I'm a year older than everyone thinks. ISF changed my records to cover up a year I spent training as an agent before going to New Sarmakand. I'm not a Metsuke or anything like that; they wanted me to feed them information from inside whichever shipyard I ended up working at, so I got trained in electronic espionage and other fun things. Also underwent a lot of armed and unarmed combat training, mainly the Japanese style of Shorinji Kempo."

"Anyway, after a year getting thrown around a dojo by a couple of right sadistic bastards, I get shipped off to Luthien. First time I'd ever been off of my home world in my entire life. My scholarship included a place in the halls or residence there, but I wasn't interested in staying there, so I got a flat in the city. In order to make the rent on a part time job I got at a bookstore, I sublet the other bedroom to a couple of other students. Kashira (Sergeant Major) Kieran Woodward and Go-cho (Corporal) Carlos Pérez. Kieran was pre - med, while Carlos was theoretical physics, real advanced stuff. We got along great, and everything seemed cool."

"Then the bitch – ‘Keeper of the House’, comes along and all of a suddenly everything goes wacky. Speak out against her and you disappear into the night. I've never been that political, but people I knew, including professors at the Institute, started to go missing, and I decided to make a stand. Getting into the underground was harder than I expected; those guys give a whole new meaning to the word 'paranoid', but someone in the DEST was a member, and they got hold of my file, and all of a sudden they decide that they need me."

"And this is when you started to make bombs?" Kogawa asked, "The Sho-sa (Major) said that you made, 'booby - traps' I think that’s how he worded it."

"Got it in one." Lalitha nodded, "But mine were different. Any fool with a basic understanding of electronics can rig half a kilo of C22 to a ground - car so it'll blow when you turn the ignition, but you risk killing a lot of innocent people when you do that. No, what I did was shaped charges designed to take out the target with the minimum of collateral damage, so they moved me into my own place so I could work 24/7 if needed. Anyway, this one time we find out that an officer in the local police was working as an informer for the other side. The guys discussed just shooting him and making it look like he'd died in the line of duty, but you kill a cop like that and they will track you to the ends of known space. So the boss decided to take the guy out in such a way that it would be obvious who had done it and why."

"The guy lived in this big old building in the center of the city. And I mean that place was built like a fortress. Really thick walls and doors. So they asked me to come up with something that'll kill anyone in his apartment, but leave the rest of the place intact. Well the first thing I did was make sure the guy lived alone, so I wouldn't end up killing his wife or something dumb like that. Then I put together a little something that could fit through his letterbox like a parcel. I rig it all up, set it for about the time our surveillance Squad said he'd be getting home from work two days later, and popped it in a post box on the far side of the city."

"Now we only had a few guys, who were trained in surveillance operations, and they were needed elsewhere, so I said I'd go and keep watch in the park across the road and make sure it went off. And boy did it go off! A sheet of flame blasted the ‘floor - to - ceiling’ windows out of their mountings and sent glass raining down into a thankfully deserted street. Nothing in that apartment could have survived."

"So what went wrong?" Kowaga raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"The ‘son - of - a - bitch’ was on holiday!" Lalitha laughed, "Like I said, we didn't have enough people to keep up surveillance properly, so we just assumed he'd be there when it went off. Lucky bastard was half way round the world, living it up on some beach. Anyway, that was it for me. I was burned as far as the higher ups were concerned, so they gave me busy - work to keep me occupied while they tried to work out what to do with me. And one day I meet Kieran for a coffee and she starts to talk about this new part - time gig she's gotten working medical logistics for the local militia. She was just venting steam about a load of extra work she'd been landed with because of some big equipment shipment coming up, not realizing that I'm paying closer than usual attention."

"As soon as I can, I get back in contact with my superiors in the DEST and tell them everything I know, and where it came from. An opportunity like that only comes up once in a proverbial blue moon, so a team was sent out to intercept the shipment and grab what they could. You ever hear of something called a 'Canary Trap'?"

"Nope," Kowaga shook his head, "I haven’t."

"A Canary Trap is a trick used by inelegance agencies to find a leak." Lalitha explained, "The basic premise is you start with one story, but you make certain adjustments so you have several variations on a theme. You feed each different story to a suspected leak, and the one that gets out tells you who the leak was. The assault team was ambushed and wiped out. I heard, figured out what was going on, and went to warn Kieran. But I got there too late. LOKI had already compromised her, tried a fake drug overdose. I caught the bastard that had done it as he was leaving the apartment. We both went for our guns, I was quicker, and he went down with a double - dose of lead to the chest. He lay there, trying to breathe as I reloaded and gave him both barrels in the face. I have no idea if it killed him outright or not, I got me and Kieran out before his friends or the police turned up, but there was no way he could have survived it."

"And that was the end of my life on Luthien. I wrote a quick note to Carlos, telling him the truth about what had happened, and the DEST got me off planet and on a DropShip headed for Outreach. The rest is history. Interviewed with the Tai-sa (Colonel) and here I am." Lalitha sat back, "So there you go. My sordid past, open for all to see."

WORD COUNT 1358

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shadow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE





DC-DR-06-02 #24

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
First Building
Friday July 6th 3096 2340 Local

The near constant 'pining' of the motion detector was beginning to get on Kintaro's nerves as his team made its way towards the basement of the first building. Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Hei Pae, the trooper holding it, swung it slowly from side to side, the flashlight built into the end illuminating sections of the hallway for a moment before moving on.

"Will you knock that shit off?" He snapped, "You're driving me nuts!"

"But it's what they did in Immortal Warrior 29: Blood - Feud." Hei Pae looked at him, "Remember? When they faced the evil scientist's mutant zombie horde ..."

"That film was the worst thing I've ever paid good money to see!" Kintaro shook his head, "The entire series went to ‘hell – in – a – hand – basket’ after ‘On The First Lords Secret Service’ ..." there was 'blip - blip - blip' from the motion detector, " ... crap."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Building Two
Friday July 6th 3096 2345 Local

Chan was two meters away, his own team moving methodically from room to room, looking in every conceivable hiding place before sealing the door after them and moving on. But it was hard work; in any military building there were untold kilometers of ducts and crawl spaces that a determined enemy could hide in. He swallowed the bile that threatened to rise in the back of his throat every time he even thought of the ProtoMech. One of the first things he'd been told in his platoon back on Ascella was that the determined ProtoMech were second only to the Unnamed Clan when it came to their abandonment of the Founding Father's vision.

Although it had been more years than he cared to remember since he'd worn the uniform of his training battalion and served alongside the Ascella Militia, he was still true in his heart to the cause, and he would hunt down every last ProtoMech on the complex and kill them with his bear hands if he had to.

Movement up ahead caught his attention, and he raised his Nighthawk’s anti – ‘Mech small pulse laser arm just in time to see a ProtoMech appear from the shadows. His finger pulled back on the trigger instinctively, a 3cm beam went through the monstrosities head, just above the bridge of its nose. The force of impact jerked the targets head back, but it kept advancing.

"PHUK ME!" Chan hissed as he flicked the selected from single shot to bust fire and pulled the trigger as the troopers of his Nighthawk Squad followed suit. The back of the ProtoMech's head exploded outwards in a fine red mist that reflected what little light there was until it impacted against the far wall. He scanned the rest of the room, his keen sense of hearing detecting motion up ahead, "STAND TO! STAND TO!"

The rest of his squad barely had time to bring their weapons to bear before the enemy was upon them.




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Friday July 6th 3096 2350 Local

Johnson looked up as the sound of distant gunfire echoed through the access ways and ducts of the building to the engineering room. The prize crew lifted and checked their makeshift arsenal of coshes, spears and flamers, readying themselves for the coming battle.

"I'm going to try and get the internal sensors online." Lalitha sat at the main control console, "That'll at least give us a warning of anyone headed our way."

"Work fast." Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Jimmy Pane suggested as he re - checked to clip on his David Light Gauss Rifle, "We will need every advantage we can get ..." something heavy hit the door, and there was a muffled scream followed by the sound of fighting. Two gunshots rang out, and then the door started to slowly slide open.




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Control Room
Friday July 6th 3096 2355 Local

Sho-ko (Command Sergeant) Markus Rivers sat in the captain's chair; a Mauser 960 Assault Rifle across his lap. A crewmember from the Indomitable stood to either side of the thickly armored door, guns at the ready.

The Nighthawk Zulu Squad member was still shaking from his encounter with the ProtoMech, but he felt a little better now that he had two people backing him up, even if they weren't trained veterans like Tai-i (Captain) Chan.

Times like this, the young Nighthawk Zulu NCO wished he could remember more about his own past ...





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Bow
Saturday July 7th 3096 0000 Local

Kintaro slammed the door closed as the last surviving member of his squad dove through. One of the ProtoMech managed to get an arm through, but Kintaro pointed his Small Pulse Laser at it and pulled the trigger until the recharging crystal shut down from a spent battery pack.

There was an inhuman scream from the other side, and the arm disappeared from view.

"We are so screwed!" Go-cho (Corporal) Frida, one of the Tornado Machine Gun Squad Trooper’s screamed, "We're going to die in here!"

"Did I give you permission to bitch, soldier? You had the chance to be afraid before you signed up for this mission!" Kintaro replaced the battery in his gun and offered it to the terrified young woman, "But to guide you back to the true path, I've brought this motivational device! Hell, back when I was in basic, we didn't have fancy weapons! We had sticks. Two sticks and a rock for the entire platoon! And we had to share the rock! You should consider yourself very lucky!" There was a scraping sound against the door as he pulled a pair of nickel-plated 9mm semi - automatic pistols from his belt, "Now we got two choices here. We can lay down, or we can throw down. What's it going to be?"

"We throw down, Sir!" The Trooper nodded as she pulled back the lever, energizing the charging crystal.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." Kintaro nodded, anchoring himself as he aimed his guns at the slowly opening door, "I love my job..."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Engineering
Saturday July 7th 3096 0005 Local

"Hi." Jenni, their clan prisoner, didn't even look phased by the number of guns pointed at her as she slipped into the engineering room, "Got bored talking to that guard guy, so I decided to come see what you were doing."

"What about the ProtoMech?" Johnson asked, he looked out of the door, and saw two dead bodies lying in the passage way.

"Who are they?" Jenni asked, seemingly surprised at their very existence, "What happened to them?"

"Well, this changes things." Lalitha looked at Johnson, who nodded his consent, "Jenni, do you know what this is?" He handed the young woman his rifle.

"TK Assault Rifle, 5.56 x 45mm, gas - operated, rotating bolt action," A strange look came over Jenni's face, almost like someone else was looking out through her eyes, "Tritium - illuminated telescopic sight and a built - in flashlight for low - visibility situations." She released the magazine and looked at the bullets before re - loading the weapon and chambering the first round, "30 – round, detachable, box magazine, 450 rounds/min with a muzzle velocity of 640 m/s. Effective kill-range for this variant is approximately 400 - meters." She looked at the manufactures stamp on the bottom of the grip, "Made by Enfield armaments of Outreach."

"Do you know how to use it?" Johnson asked.

"Yes." Jenni nodded.

"See those things?" Lalitha pointed at the two dead ProtoMech and waited for her to nod, "Go see if you can find any more in the complex and kill them." He handed her two more fully - loaded magazines, "You might need these."



Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
First Building
Saturday July 7th 3096 0010 Local

This is the way things end.

This is the shock and awe of a pair of nickel – plated, .45, semi - automatic pistols spitting hollow - point rounds with inhuman accuracy. This is a born killer doing what he does best. This is not business. This is almost art. This is a group of ProtoMech walking round a corner at exactly the wrong moment. This is the bone - crunch of bodies hitting the nearby walls, like wet sacks of meat. This is the zip of hot lead. This is the hot - metal stink of violent death. This is the result of years of training under brutal conditions. This is white - hot rage unlike any truly sane mind can handle. This is a declaration of war.

This isn't vengeance. This is retribution; cold as ice, swift as lightning and terrible as a demons worst nightmare.

This is Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka ‘Iceman’ Kintaro doing what he was born to do.




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Hallway
Saturday July 7th 3096 0015 Local

"That was just about the damnedest thing I've ever seen!" Lalitha shook his head in disbelief. Jenni was standing in the middle of the hallway, gun in one hand. Her eyes were closed as she swayed slowly to a tune that only she could hear while the remains of dead ProtoMech lay around her.

"Whatever they did to her, it was not right." Johnson shook his head, "By the Star League, I have never seen anything like it."

"Let's just be glad she's on our side, shall we?" Lalitha took a step forward, steadying himself on a hand rail, "Jenni?"

"Yes?" The young woman asked, still swaying.

"We should keep moving." The Gunsho (Sergeant) suggested, "The others might need our help."

"Okay." Jenni ejected the spent magazine from her gun and loaded in a fresh one without opening her eyes. She pulled back the lever, chambering the first round and looked down the semi - lit passage way, her eyes now open and alert, "Stay behind me."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Basement
Saturday July 7th 3096 0020 Local

"Am I the only one who thinks that staying here is tantamount to suicide?" McCarthy looked around the corner. There was no sign of the ProtoMech that been following them, but that meant exactly nothing, "I say that we head up to the engineering room and fine the Tai-i (Captain)?"

"I agree." Nordal nodded, pulling the stock of his 9mm sub machine - gun tight into his armored shoulder, "The situation is fast becoming out of hand." He looked at the two deckhands from Indomitable who were following them, "Watch our backs; I don't want something nasty to sneak up on us. We advance in twos; cover formation."

"I'll take point." McCarthy pushed off from the wall and shot around the corner, grabbing a hand rail to spin himself into a doorway, his laser-carbine pointed down the hallway.

Nordal followed with calm precision, using gravity to come to a stop across the corridor from his squad -mate, a final twist at the end leaving him prone compared to McCarthy. The deckhands followed close behind, unwilling to be left to fend for themselves in the dark and twisted nightmare that the complex had turned into.





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Cargo Bay
Saturday July 7th 3096 0025 Local

"We're loosing him!" Go-cho (Corporal) Hyung-on 'Shooter’ Fukui yelled as he tried to re - apply the bandage to the sucking wound in their Squad Leader’s, Gunsho (Sergeant) Ralph Ibrahim's, chest.

"God damn you Sarge!" Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Sandrine ‘Ama’ Paschalis cursed, "I will not have you die on me!"

A loud bang shook the door they were hiding behind as the ProtoMech made another attempt to force it open. Their claw - like fingers had already claimed the lives of two Epsilon Troopers and had carved up the Gunsho (Sergeant) like a Sunday roast. With each impact, the carbon bar holding the door closed bent a little more, and it was only a matter of time before it gave way entirely. With almost no ammunition left and just five uninjured Squad members to hold them off, it was a forgone conclusion that the ProtoMech would get in and finish their dire task of annihilating both squads.

"We're ‘spam – in - a - can’!" Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Farra Kawakami, the team’s youngest member shouted.

"Yeah, so?" Fukui slipped the last power cell into his Magna laser rifle and gripped it tightly with both hands, "We've all got to go some time. Most people have no choice in how they meet their end; only how they face it when it comes. Personally, if Death is coming for me today, then I'm going to make the bastard pay dearly for it!"





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Control Room
Saturday July 7th 3096 0030 Local

Chan tossed his useless SMG at the screaming ProtoMech advancing on him. The sharp edges of the smashed plastic stock cutting deeply into the skin through a breach in its armor. Reacting instinctively, he grabbed the knife from his belt and held it at the ready.

Driven by rage and pain, the ProtoMech leaped at him, trying to rip the armor from his body with its manipulators. Chan responded with his feet, fists, knees and elbows, spitting curses in English and Japanese as his blade slashed back and forth.

Blood flowed freely as the two continued their dance of death.



Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Control Room
Saturday July 7th 3096 0035 Local

Blanchard felt a strange sense of calm come over him as the door started to open. His hands brought up the big Tornado Gauss Rifle rifle to his hip on their own, his thumb flipping the selector switch to full-auto without a moment’s hesitation. The two Nighthawk Zulu Squad Troopers looked at each other with ashen faces through their visors as they heard the inhuman cries of the ProtoMech from the widening gap.

Time seemed to slow down.

The doored opened enough to guarantee a clear shot, and Blanchard's finger squeezed the trigger. The rifle barked, shaking in his hand as round after round flew from the barrel. It seemed as if the Nighthawk Zulu Squad Leader could almost see each and every bullet as they tore into the ProtoMechs, knocking them back through the door one – by - one. But still they came, using their dead to provide what little cover they could as they forced the door open inch – by – agonizing - inch. Blanchard moved the rifle from side to side, gunning them down, his face an emotionless mask.

Something deep inside him, buried amid the hidden memories, had come alive. An odd sense of peace came over him as his gun worked its way through an entire drum magazine of .303 brass Tanakaed rounds. He didn't even register the sound of the hammer hitting an empty chamber before he simply let the weapon go, drawing the two heavy revolvers from their holsters under each arm. His thumbs drew back the hammers in perfect union a split second before he pulled the triggers.




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Teppo Mobile HQ
Saturday July 7th 3096 0040 Local

Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi Razan sat looking at the screen. Each member of the Wind Dragon Task Force had been issued a locator tag so their progress could be monitored. The tags were worn like bracelets, and picked up the wearer’s heartbeat, indicating if they were alive or dead. One side screen was filled with names next to the official unit photo of the person it belonged to. Many of them had red crossed through them, indicating that the wearer was dead. As she watched, the tag indicating Gunsho (Sergeant) Ralph 'Stack’ Ibrahim flashed momentarily, before it too was marked with a red cross.

"God help us..." The Tai-sa (Colonel) groaned.

"God?" Sho-sa (Major) Owen ‘Kestrel’ Callaghan asked, "What makes you think that bastard has anything to do with what's happening here?"

WORD COUNT 2814

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shadow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

User avatar
Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:39 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #25

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Saturday July 7th 3096 0045 Local

"Boldly they rode and well into the Jaws of Death," Gunsho (Sergeant) Steve 'Geek' Lalitha muttered to himself as he edged along the hallway, "into the Mouth of Hell, road the six hundred."

"Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'd in air, Sabring the gunners there," Tai-i (Captain) Duane 'Joint' Johnson continued, "Charging an army, while all the world wonder'd. Plunged in the battery – smoke, Right thro' the line they broke; Cossack and Russian Reel'd from the sabre stroke, Shatter'd and sunder'd. Then they rode back, but not, Not the six hundred."

"You've read Tennyson?" The fellow squaddie asked.

"The Charge of the Light Brigade is seen as an important lesson in many ways." The former Avalon Hussars commissioned offeicer nodded, "On the one hand, it is a warning to never assume that those under your command know everything you know. And on the other, it tells us that following orders, no matter how foolish they may seem, can be an important virtue in a warrior."

"Yet you used contractions?" Lalitha asked, "I thought that was a big no-no?"

"It is allowed, when quoting poetry and song." Johnson shrugged, "For some reason, Shakespeare just does not work without them."




Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District



Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Saturday July 7th 3096 0050 Local

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?" Kintaro grabbed the nearest thing at hand, which turned out to be a fire - extinguisher, and hurled it at his opponent. The Chyrsaor ProtoMech caught it and snarled as Kintaro pointed his one remaining gun at it, "SMILE YOU SON OF A ..."

The sound of the gunshot drowned out any words, but it paled in comparison to the detonation of the fire - extinguisher as the highly compressed CO2 suddenly found a way out. The steel container was ripped to shreds as the gas fought to find a way out, turning itself into an impromptu fragmentation grenade. The effects were instantaneous. The ProtoMech's face and upper torso were ripped to pieces as force of the explosion sent it flying into the nearest wall with enough force to crack its metal skull.

Adjusting his stance in the middle of floor adopting a gunslinger pose of the Terran wild west, Kintaro span his guns round as the next ProtoMech assailant dove at him. His Kage armored fist was a blur as it moved through the air, the solid metal on metal hitting the ProtoMech in the jaw. Hydrolic oil and metal teeth filled the air, fanning out onto the wall even as Kintaro's other arm came round at a much lower angle, gutting up with equal force to the first. The few teeth that the ProtoMech had left proved more than enough to slice off its lower mandible, sending even more oil spraying all over Kintaro.





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Saturday July 7th 3096 0055 Local

The cry of triumph that erupted from Chu-i (Lieutenant) Betsi 'Storm' Ichikawa's throat was raw and savage, calling back to the dawn of time, before the birth of civilization. The deepest, oldest part of her mind basked in the savageness of the kill, while she herself was disgusted that she was capable of such an act. Her eyes wide with rage, blood pumping though her body with a thundering tempo as adrenalin powered her every move. The only other ProtoMech in the compartment looked at her, saw the fire burring behind her eyes, and took a step back.

A fresh war - cry filled the air as Betsi kicked off from the stanchion behind her and flew through the air on her Nighthawk’s jumpjets, towards the ProtoMech. The vibro Katana in her hand was still slick with the blood of her last opponent, but it had ceased being a weapon. It was part of her, an extension of her body. There could be only one outcome as Betsi unleashed a savage attack, the crimson tinted blade slashing back and forth as she unleashed the beast lurking within her mind.





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Saturday July 7th 3096 0100 Local

Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Vincent 'Lethal' Blanchard stood in the middle of the complex's Control Room, an island of calm amid the chaos that surrounded him. He held a mismatched pair of anti ‘Mech weapon's taken from the ProtoMech, who even now attempted to pull the reinforced door back open after Blanchard’s two Nighthawk Zulu Squad troopers had managed to close it. His breathing was slow and shallow, his eyes closed as he took a moment to re - center himself. He didn't remember where he'd picked up the meditation technique, but it always helped him to regain his focus.

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind - killer. Fear is the little - death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me." He tightened his grip on the guns, hearing the metal click against his armored gloved in his hot, sweaty palms, "And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

Opening his eyes, he looked at the door at it finally gave way, almost crushing the Nighthawk armored troopers as they dove for cover behind the captain’s chair. Blanchard brought up his guns and pulled the triggers, sending twin streams of 3cm death forward as he started to walk towards the attackers. For the first time in as long as he could remember, his mind was clear, free of the cloud that had been hanging over it. While his mind could still not remember his past, his body could, and he let instinct guide his actions.






Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Saturday July 7th 3096 0105 Local

Jenni stopped dead just before an intersection, holding up one hand to signal the others to stop. She held up two fingers, then motioned two her left. Johnson nodded as he edged his way towards the junction, his heavy laser pistol held tightly with both hands.

"Thunder!" A voice, just above a whisper, came from around the corner, "Thunder!"

"Lightning." Johnson gave the counter signal, letting out the breath he'd been holding.

"What in the name of John Wayne's ghost do you guys think you're doing?" Kintaro slipped round the corner, followed by the only other surviving member of his team, a terrified looking young man who hugged his carbine like a drowning man holding onto a life preserver, "And who told you to give the crazy lady a gawd - damn gun?"

"It seemed like the lesser of two evils, at the time." Lalitha shrugged, "And considering what she can do ..." He shook his head, "I'm going to get fall - down drunk when this is all over."

"Yet another story for another time." Kintaro took a moment to assess the situation, "I don't know about you guys, but I've not seen any more of these sorry ‘sons – of – bitches’ for a while now. Any chance we've got them all?"

"We need to find why they were left in the building in the first place to be sure." Lalitha thought for a moment, "Get me to the Control Room, and I'll have a go at getting the internal sensors and intercom on - line. At least then we'll know where everyone is."

"What about weapons?" Johnson asked.

"Depends." The NCO shrugged, "Things like automated turrets, weapons control, and the sensors were probably locked down by the Snow Raven personnel before they left."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, people. One thing at a time." Kintaro pointed out, "Okay, we head to the Control Room and try and restore communications. If we can do that, we can at least signal the Koi to come pick us up."





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Saturday July 7th 3096 0110 Local

"Chu-i (Lieutenant)?" Blanchard cocked his head to the side as he looked at Betsi. The former Avalon Hussar commissioned officer was covered from helmet to boot in blood, her once pristine Nighthawk armor had been pierced and breeched in several places, her rank insignia missing. "You look like I feel."

"I could say the same about you." Betsi smiled wearily, her body begging to demand payment for its former state, "I found these guys down in the cargo bay." She nodded towards Fukui, Sandrine and Kawakami, "I regret to inform you that Gunsho (Sergeant) Ralph Ibrahim did not survive."

"Dear God rest his soul. Another one we owe them for." Blanchard vowed, then stepped aside to allow the others through the shattered door, "They will know pain, they will know suffering, and then, and only then, they will die."

WORD COUNT 1548

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shadow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE




DC-DR-06-02 #26

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
Forward Observation Base
Lustrum
Saturday July 7th 3096 0115 Local

"You two are dumber than a bag of hammers." Gunsho (Sergeant) Steve Lalitha shock his head as he walked past Eric McCarthy and Anthon Nordal, "Next time I tell you to stay put, try and think of it as an order."

"You're not that good on following orders yourself, boss." McCarthy pointed out with a lopsided grin, "And we missed you, too."

"I'll give you something to miss if you ever disobey a direct order from one of Gunsho (Sergeants) again!" Colonel Tanaka ‘Iceman’ Kintaro hissed as he sat in the command chair, looking round the Control Room, "Okay, we're here. What now?" he said aloud as his eyes rested on the Sho-i (Senior Chief Tech).

"Now I’ll try and get the internal sensors up and running while one of you guys starts work on getting word to the Koi WiGE." The Razan’s Ronins Regimental, Senior Chief Technician, Francis Adnan pulled her tool kit from her belt and walked over to the air filtration station, "Plan B should always be 'run away very fast'."

"That is a very cowardly outlook on life." Tai-i (Captain) Duane Johnson sounded disgusted, "A Ronin should never run from a fight."

"Yeah, you go run head - first into the jaws of death." The Tornado Gauss Rifle Squad Sergeant shook his head, "After all, we really need another dead hero right about now."

"Knock that shit off." Kintaro snapped, "Francis, get the internal sensors up and working. Johnson, secure that door; the last thing we need is another Chrysaor sneak - attack."





Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
AirSpace
Oo-Suzumebachi Class Small Craft
Indomitable
Control Room
Saturday July 7th 3096 0120 Local

We're getting something from the Lustrum; very weak, almost lost in the background." The Captain of the Indomitable, Sho-ka (Master Chief Petty Officer) Renn Rothwell cupped his hands around his ears in a bid to try and hear more, "Sounds like old Morse Code; mine is a little rusty, but that's definitely
Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro's ID code."

"What's he saying?" The Draconis Combine’s Professional Soldiery Liaison Officer leaned over the ship’s captain.

"They've managed to get most of the survivors back to the Control Room, and are trying to get the base’s systems back on - line." Rothwell paused for a moment, "They say we're to pull back out security teams from the vestibule and return the DropShip back to our Joint Operations Base."

"If there is one thing I know, it is that Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro has a well developed sense of self-preservation, and wouldn't give such an order without very good reason." The Draconis Combine Liaison nodded his agreement, "We do as he says."







Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Bjarred Prefecture
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Coburg
Rhineland
DropShip
Triumph Class
Millennium
Bridge
Saturday July 7th 3096 0125 Local

"You have no sense of humor what so ever." Kintaro shook his head, "I'm sorry, but it's true; I notice these things."

"I have a sense of humor." Nordal protested.

"Okay." The Colonel looked at Athon Nordal, arms folded across his chest, "Tell us a joke?"

"A joke?" The young man thought for a second, "Okay, here's one. Why did Kali Liao cross the road?"

"I don't know; why did Kali Liao cross the road?" Kintaro asked.

"Because someone threw a brightly colored ball!" Nordal answered with a smile.

"That is, without a doubt, the single worst joke I have ever heard!" Lalitha shook his head, "Dear God man, never, ever try and tell a joke, ever again."

"All joking aside, haven't you got that thing working yet?" Kintaro asked the Senior Chief.

"This thing?" Francis gestured over her shoulder at the main command station, then promptly slammed her elbow into it. The emergency lights flickered for a moment, then everything came to life, "Loose connection." she smiled, "Happens all the time."

"Wyatt Earp's balls!" Kintaro exclaimed as he looked at the tactical read - out, "Are the weapons really all on - line?"

"Well, they're receiving power, but the safety interlocks are still in - place." Francis shook her head, "But it looks like we should be able to patch up the core fusion reactor and replace the Helium - coolant lost in the original take over. I am, however, going to have to run a full diagnostic sweep to make sure that our uninvited guests didn't leave anything behind." She took a deep breath, "As far as I can tell they're all dead, but I have picked up an anomalous heat signature 200 - clicks off the port bow that could very well be their ship, and it does seem to be on an intercept course. Now, with our weapons inoperative and only no fighter - support, we are, to put it bluntly, more than a little screwed if they have anything approaching a decent weapons load over there, so I'm going to have to ask permission to try something we played with on a simulator back at An Ting University; it's a tactic that is somewhat bizarre, and extremely risky."

"Sir, I'm sure I'm speaking for everyone here, but I think we'd prefer to go with the bizarre and risky." Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Vincent Blanchard, the Nighthawk Romeo Squad member stood leaning against the bulkhead, "Worked for us so far."

"For lack of any better plan of action ..." Kintaro shrugged, "Do what you got to do."

The Pilot stood and made his way over to the helms station and sat down, securing the five - point harness before looking round the rest of the room, "You guys might want to find something to hold on to; this is going to be a little bumpy."

The others dove for what cover they could as Captain Ramon Richards, who normally crewed the Razan’s Ronin’s Aurora Class DropShip the Wyvern, brought the ships maneuvering thrusters on - line. While the system had not been used for almost five years, the tanks of fuel and oxidizer were still almost full and pressurized. They responded to the commands, long dormant servos opening valves in the correct order, mixing the two chemicals in the combustion chamber then funneling the resulting reaction out the thruster - ports.

From the air, the entire ship seemed to shudder momentarily, the thin layer of station - dust that had built up over the years shacking loose as it slowly begin to spin round on its center of axis. Counter - thrusters fired, bringing the entire ship to rest with its rear point directly at the approaching ProtoMech DropShip.

"Anyone want to make a wish?" Richards asked over his shoulder, "Because I'm about to light one hell of a candle."

A second sun appeared in the sky as the Millennium’s main inter - system drive came to life, a reaction powerful enough to accelerate the ship at a constant 3-G's spewing forth a spike of super - hot plasma that burned hotter than the surface of any star. The patchwork armor on the incoming ProtoMech DropShip held out for a few seconds, then melted and slowed like butter under a blow - torch, exploding outwards as the structural - integrity failed, venting atmosphere into the air surrounding it. Broken and dying, the ship was blown off course, spinning off into the eternal night of the Neustadt continent.

The blinding glare of the drive faded out, leaving just a faint cherry - red after glow. The thrusters fired again, spinning the slender 318 - meter ship round a 180 - degrees until it was slowly drifting backwards, its bow pointed towards the Indomitable and the Lustrum Base. A second, more controlled burst from the inter - system drive slowed the ship to a halt, then gently set it on a return course towards the other two objectives. A few staggered bursts from the bow thrusters brought the ship to a relative stop, her running lights glowing for the first time since the fall of the Second Star League.

"And that, is how we do that" Richards leant back in his seat, hands behind his head, "People tend to forget that the drive plume from the station-keeping drives on even a civilian DropShip can vaporize any fool who gets too close."

"If I ever get on your bad side, let me know." McCarthy shook his head in disbelief, "Because I would really like the chance to apologize."

"You get that far onto my bad - side, you'll never know it, trust me." The Tai-i (Captain) yawned, "I have no surviving enemies, at all."

"How long to patch up the base’s reactor?" Kintaro asked Francis, trying to release the knots of tension that had built up in his shoulders over the last 24 - hours, "I for one do not want to be here if any of their friends come looking for them."

"The original personnel managed to fix most of the systems." Francis pulled a palm - top computer out of one pocket and tapped away at the controls for a few seconds, "I want to double - check the patches, make sure they'll hold, but we should be ready to re - fill the helium tanks in another day or so."

"But grab a shower first, please." Heishi (Private) William Le Bris wrinkled his nose, "The air scrubbers in here are not fully operation yet."

Word Count 1615

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shadow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE



DC-DR-06-02 #27

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Daimyo Mobile HQ
Thursday November 12th 3096 1300 hours Local

"In short we have two key lessons. Firstly, we are horribly outgunned, so our best bet is to get up close and engage hand to hand with at least a 2 to 1 advantage in numbers. Secondly, we have to forget everything we were taught about fighting Clan Jade Falcon. We are facing Clan Snow Ravens and they behave differently. I don't want to overplay the animal analogy, but they do act very much like a Snow Raven congress, cunning, careful and lethal." Chu-i (Lieutenant) Kyle Kennebrew slipped his notes into his pocket. "Sirs. Ma'ams, thank you for listening, any questions?”

Sho-sa (Major) Karen Tsang leaned back in her chair onboard the Razan’s Ronins Daimyo Mobile HQ as the command group began asking questions of the young lieutenant.

As the Intelligence Officer, it should have been Karen giving the intel brief, but given that an awful lot of the points being presented were drawn from Kennebrew's own observations it seemed only right to let the junior officer show off his work. It would be good experience for him anyway. Kyle gathered battle intel from overhead flying around in the Cobra VTOL Command ‘chopper. Karen looked around the compartment; it occurred to her how empty the briefing room was becoming. Before Dieron the command team had been 10 strong, now there were only 7 of them. She let the questioning continue for a while before reasserting her right to chair the meeting. "Thank you Kyle, that will do for questions for the time being. Print outs of the full report will be distributed later."

Karen took her seat as Kennebrew took his place at the podium. He flicked a switch and the projected slide changed to an aerial shot of an aerospace staging facility deep in the mountains. "This is Hamburg Refinery. It is the primarily hydrogen refinery and storage facility on the planet. Critically it is connected by pipeline to Stapelfeld's space port which only keeps a minimum reserve of fuel on site. If we destroy this facility it will systematically cripple the Snow Raven’s 5th Raven Wing Cluster and prevent Clan Snow Raven from using the space port as a refueling point and potentially force a pause while they bring up supplies from other worlds."

"It will also cause a nice morale boasting explosion." Sho-i (Lieutenant Senior Grade) Jing Li cut in excitedly.

"That wouldn't hurt at the moment." Tai-i (Captain) Terri Sicoe added thoughtfully as she studied the aerial picture. "Only one way in and out, I assume that pass is guarded?"


"Almost certainly." Kennebrew replied. "Military fortunately, we have a plan. Boss?"

Onishi stood up and replaced Kyle at the podium. "A frontal assault is out of the question. Roughly half our ‘Mechs are out of action awaiting repairs, taking on a single star would be a risky endeavor at this point. Instead Jing is going to take a reinforced lance through the mountains, bypass the defenses and destroy the facility before the Clanners know what hit them." She smacked the Hamburg refinery with her pointing stick to emphasis the point.

Jing looked concerned. "You know me, I'm more than happy to try. But, are we sure I can get ‘Mechs up there? Even with jump jets that looks impassable."

"Gunsho (Sergeant) James Jiménez from our Gray Death Scout Team is an amateur mountaineer. He's climbed that region during his recon patrols for the past two weeks and is convinced there's a path for a Shadow Hawk." Onishi replied. "I've not actually got to the bad bit yet." There was a hit of amusement in her voice and just the slightest evidence of a smile. "The facility is a water cracking one, so it is not self - combusting like an oil refinery and just shooting up the storage tanks will only set them on fire for half an hour or so, without causing serious damaging the rest of the facility. If we're going to make this stick we need to place two charges, one to release the hydrogen from the tanks and the second to set off the explosion. Which means we need boots on the ground so you're going to be cramming PA(L) armor onto your ‘Mech's handholds."

Jing paused for a moment and then smiled. "Sounds like my kind of crazy! Well why the hell not, it'll be just like old times." This drew a thin laugh from the assembled officers. "I'll need a hand picked group for this one, can't be jockeying anyone with conscript syndrome."

"Best get a balance of pilots." Terri interjected. "Make a point of this one - unit business."

"I'll leave division of assets to the pair of you." Onishi replied. "Terri you're to set up a patrol rota with any ‘Mechs and pilots Jing doesn't need. Move people around and give the newcomers a turn, see how they pilot, we've too many pilots and too few machines to have assigned ‘Mechs at the minute."

"That's not going to be popular." Terri cautioned.

"No it won't. But it will keep people on their toes." Onishi turned the projector off and walked in front of the podium. "We need to keep in mind that we are fighting an enemy who outnumbers us and outguns us. Frankly, in a stand up fight, they outclass us. So to win we're going to have to out think them and downright out crazy them. Anyone who isn't up to the job is to be benched." She looked straight at Terri. "And I mean anyone." She repeated for emphasis. Terri nodded, understanding the unspoken message. "Am I understood?"

"Ma’am, Yes Ma’am!"

The response came back, loud and with certainty. "Right, then." Onishi continued. " Karen, Kyle stay behind I've got a task for you. Jing tell Tushio he can use the captured Mist Lynx to practice dismounting drillings with the infantry squad. No scratch that. Send him to me and I'll tell him." She had promised after all she thought to herself. "Everyone else, dismissed."

Fired up, the rest of the command group filled out of the Daimyo Mobile HQ leaving Kyle, Karen and Onishi alone. "Kyle, Karen tells me that report was almost entirely your own work." Onishi nodded. "That was sugoi good work."

"Arigatou gozaimasu Ma’am." Kennebrew replied, beaming widely.

"I'm pulling the two of you from intelligence duties temporarily to form a working group. Grab whoever you need this is priority two after Jing's mission." Onishi paused, judging the younger man's reaction, she'd already broached the subject with Karen and knew she was happy enough with the idea.

The Chu-i (Lieutenant) couldn't decide if he was disappointed or thrilled at the opportunity. "What are we working on sir?"

"This sort of raiding mission is likely to be our bread and butter for the foreseeable future. But I can't keep bringing the Dragon’s Nest down as a repair base. She's too big, too obvious. I want a kind of forward repair base, but something much more low key, something that will be hard to spot from the air and something we can disassemble and move quickly if we need to." Onishi watched Kyle carefully as he mulled the idea over.

"I've got a few ideas Tai-sa (Colonel)." Kyle replied at length. "I'll get right on it." He continued as a broad grin spreading over his face.

"Good man." Onishi replied clasping Kyle on the shoulder. "Karen you happy with all this?"

"I've got the specs Oni. We'll clear out a working space on the infantry deck." Karen replied with a smile. "Come on Kyle, let's make a start."

Kyle and Karen departed, leaving Onishi alone in the Mobile HQ’s briefing compartment. She waited until the door had closed before taking a deep breath, slowly exhaling as she leaned on the podium for support, her eyes half closed. She picked up her mug, but to her disappointment found she'd already drunk the tea it normally contained. A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in."

Tushio stepped through the door, holding two steaming mugs of tea. "Jing said you wanted to see me." He said, offering Onishi one of the mugs. "Thought you might want one of these too."

Onishi regarded her nephew as she silently took one of the mugs. The problem with being a ‘Mechwarrior was you were often absent from home for prolonged periods. To an extent that had let her be 'fun' auntie, the auntie who returned home on leave with exotic gifts and tall tales of far off worlds. Later on it had occurred to her that it had also made her absent aunt, the aunt who missed every truly important moment in both her sister’s children's lives. Right now it made him the aunt with no idea what to say. "How are you doing?" It sounded lame in her head before she said it.

Tushio was slow to reply. "As well as can be expected, I guess." He shrugged noncommittally. "Don't know." He sighed. "Not sure how to feel."

They both stood there awkwardly for a moment. "How's your Sister?"

"I'm not allowed to talk to her, I'm only allowed in the infirmary if I'm injured." Tushio replied with a rueful half smile.

"Better than me then. I have to be seriously injured." Onishi replied. Tushio laughed despite himself and Onishi found herself joining in without quite knowing why.

"Yes that sounds like her." Tushio replied wiping a tear away from his eye. "Anyway Jing said something about using the Mist Lynx for training."

"Yes, the next raid is going to involve infantry dismounted and remounting from ‘Mechs in a hurry. As yours in banged up, you can use the one we captured from the Snow Ravens to help them practice." Onishi replied, happy to be back on familiar ground.

"Your letting me pilot her?" Tushio said in surprise.

"Don't scratch her." Onishi admonished.

"Would you be able to tell at the minute?" Tushio replied cheekily.

"Get out of here before I change my mind." Onishi played along for a moment before her tone went back to awkward. "Tushio we should talk more … if you need …" She trailed off as she couldn't find the words she wanted. She unconsciously squared her shoulders, switching back to the familiar ground of formality. "I've been letting my sword skills get rusty lately. Would you mind sparing with me a little later?"

"Sure Auntie, after my next patrol." Tushio smiled, reading between the lines without major difficulty. "I'd better get going, see you on the other side."

"Aye." Onishi replied with mixed emotions.


WORD COUNT 1854

Joint Post between

Name: MyKayla
Callsign: ‘Sy-Berian Starr
Rank: Sho-Ka (Master Sergeant)
Hardware: Daboku DCMS-MX92-E
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE

&

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE




DC-DR-06-02 #28

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Ludendorff
Magdeburg
Mungsten Bridge
Thursday November 26th 3096 1300 hours Local

The Mungsten Bridge was the single connecting point crossing the Elbe river for 30 miles in either direction. Well, the only one around that could support military vehicles weighing more than twenty tons to be more precise. From Kintaro's position on the south bank, the Mungsten Bridge was beautiful; albeit, probably not in the same sense of the word the engineers who had built it would have intended.

The Bridge connected to a road that ran through a tight series of hills that only rose higher in the distance until becoming a serious mountain range. Anything without the combination of maneuverability and speed of ‘Mechs would find themselves confined to that road. Thus, the Mungsten Bridge became an Infantryman's definition of something beautiful: killing ground with a natural choke point.

"They might be noisy bastards, Sho-sa (Major), but there are some benefits to running around with the big boys". Sho-sa (Tech Major) Mediate sighed as he slouched down in the small trench next to the Sho-sa (Major), his radio operator, Guinsho (Tech Sergeant) Clyde Rin, and two other troopers, Go-chu (Technician) Burkhard Bugge and Gunjin (AsTech) Oliver Stace. The Sho-sa (Tech Major) had a trench 30 meters west of Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro's position, and for the last 20 minutes, he had been making his final inspections of the Combat Engineering platoon's preparations.

"How so?" Kintaro spat out a stream of tobacco juice. A good number of men in the platoon smoked, or dipped, or in Kintaro's case, both. Course, the Galvruss were going to be hurting after night fell and light discipline had to be enforced. Heck, since they were waiting in ambush, the cigarette hounds were already feeling the pain. Chances were, there would be a few more dippers by the end of the day.

"Well, it would have taken us what, two, three hours to dig in us and the boys. And factor in the tanks and the APCs and god knows how long we would have been shifting sand. These big mothers got it done in what - fifteen minutes?"

Kintaro smirked a little at the thought. As soon as the combined forces of the infantry, tanks, APC and ‘Mechs had made it to their over watch position, Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi had assigned her ‘Mechs with hands to help dig in. Using their massive ‘Mechanical digits, the 12 meter tall monsters had made short work for the Infantry and their support vehicles. Kintaro did have to admit, it made setting up a lot easier. "You're right there brother. And I'll admit, it was kinda funny seeing the ‘Mechwarriors have their billion - credit toys bent over digging in the dirt like preschoolers."

Mediate got a conspiratorial look in his eyes and his voice lowered a bit. "Hey Sho-sa (Major), speaking of seeing things bend over, how ‘bout that Gunsho (Sergeant) Christy Brinks in Red Dragon Lance? She's good loo . . . Aw Shit!"

Mediate' voice went from playful to serious in under a second. Pointing across the Bridge below them, the Sho-sa (Tech Major) point out what was coming around the bend in the road almost three kilometers north "Play times over."

A 45 - ton Shadow Cat with several other ‘Mechs, and what looked like hover troop transports were approaching the Bridge. Like the shadows, the enemy ‘Mech was rust colored, just like the local flora; however it was a single solid color instead of the mottled camo pattern the Ronins were using. Reacting quickly, Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro shifted over to his radio man, grabbing the hand set from the young trooper. "Give me the company freq. Clyde." Waiting for the man to confirm he was connected to the rest of the Task Force, Kintaro calmly reported in the visual. "All Ronin, this is DEST Actual. Enemy contact sited."

Immediately, all movement ceased as everyone quickly assumed their positions. This was a lot earlier than anyone expected to make contact, but they were as ready as they could get. The Task Force, consisting of elements from three battalions, were all in a good positions, as soon as the bridge reached the south bank, the road had to climb a steep hill that gave the Razan’s Ronins a degree of cover. The Bridge ended three hundred yards from their position, just out of range of their SRMs, but still plenty stuck in the middle of the Saracen medium Tank and their Scorpion Light tank’s 20 pack MRM launchers. And then there were the 8 ‘Mechs of Dragon’s Lair and Red Dragon lance, well pulled away from the edge of the hill and invisible to the enemy.

The commander of Red Dragon lance, Sho-i (Lieutenant Senior Grade) Jing Li spoke with her calm and crisp voice over the encrypted long range comm, "Sundown, Sundown, Sundown."

This was it then, thought Kintaro. The Tai-sa (Colonel) had decided that they were going to hold their positions and fight it out with the Snow Ravens. With Jing's "Sundown" message, everyone, including Wind Dragon Lance 15 kilometers south knew that there was about to be a fight at the Bridge. The Shadow Cat had just reached the northern end of the Bridge, and Kintaro could see the rest of the enemy force more clearly. This was definitely the rest of the enemy company, they had just moved quicker than the Ronins had expected.

Kintaro reported his observations to Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi since his commanding officer wouldn't be able to see anything that was occurring yet. "Ronin’s Actual, this is DEST Actual. We count 8 ‘Mechs crossing Observation Area 1. Estimate is three lights, five mediums. Additionally, 6 armored transports, estimating a company of Solahma infantry inside. Enemy's main body will be in Target Area 1 in 2 minutes".

The Snow Ravens were moving relatively slowly, not at a pace that suggested they were about to get in a fight, but they certainly weren't rushing either. This made them all the easier to get the drop on as the lead lance was nearing the end of the Bridge. Kintaro began a slow count from 5. As soon as he hit one, smoke and fire exploded up from 200 meters on either side of him, the Scorpion and Saracen tanks ambushing their pray. The two tanks fired off 40 missiles virtually straight up, all aimed to arc and drop for the center point of the Bridge, right where the enemy ‘Mechanized infantry were crossing.

Indirect fire was a touchy thing and required a real skill to carry out. Kintaro's team had to be skilled spotters and the tank crews had to know how to make just the right adjustments to their weapons. Both teams were very good, but even so, less than half of the fired missiles impacted the desired point. They were still enough to do some significant damage as the missiles that did impact landed right in the midst of three armored personnel carriers. The thin skinned vehicles could take some punishment, mostly from small arms, and even light lasers and machine guns. The explosive blast and shrapnel from missiles dropped right on top of them were something else.

One vehicle simply ceased to exist, its full cells ruptured and ammunition ignited before its crew and passengers even had time to react. The forward most vehicle in the formation, actually got off somewhat light, with shrapnel punching through its hull in several places. The passengers inside bore the brunt of the damage, but the vehicle rolled on. The third vehicle was also killed outright, but instead of exploding, it slewed to the side, its treads shredded. Kintaro gave a savage grin at the sight. That vehicle's death blocked a good portion of the Bridge, making it that much easier to kill its friends. He called for repeat fire. “Hit’em Again!”

The lead lance wasn't idle as its wards were killed, the enemy Shadow Cat that first crossed the Bridge immediately stepped to the side and began strafing the hill with light autocannon fire. None of the troops were hit, but the fire would eventually nail someone. Unfortunately, the Shadow Cat was actually the least of the infantry's problem at the moment. An Arctic Wolf and a Koshi, two brutally fast and jump capable ‘Mechs, leapt over the shoulder of their larger companion. In just a few seconds, they would land at the top of the hill, and by extension, right on top of Kintaro's platoon. Even those two weren't the infantry officer's primary concern though, he knew they had a nasty surprise coming.

The last ‘Mech in the lead lance was a Dasher - D variant. The 20 - tonner was laughed at by most ‘Mechwarriors for its small size, but the flamer in its torso was all business. The stubby nozzle of the weapon seemed to glare towards the infantry from out of from the red light ‘Mech's right torso. Too far away to reach the top of the hill in a single jump, Kintaro knew he had seconds to take that beast down before it turned its flames on his men. "Dasher, 200 meters, all primary and secondary shooters!" It was time the Snow Ravens saw the first ace the Ronins were holding up their sleeves.

The entrenched infantry had 6 reloadable, one - shot missile launchers with them. The tubes were lighter and more accurate than the more common double tube variants popular in the Inner Sphere. The weapons were more than sufficient to handle light vehicles and Military Fortifications, but unfortunately, even six of those would be unlikely to take out the Dasher in a single barrage. But each trooper also carried a single use LAAW missile with them, just for this occasion. It was a heavier combat load than what they typically went out with, but both Sho-sa (Major) Kintaro and Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi though it was a wise decision for the mission at hand. At the Sho-sa (Major)'s command, all 6 SRM launchers and 6 of the LAAW launchers fired on the enemy ‘Mech.

Fire wreathed around the light machine's waist and legs and armor scattered across the battlefield like red dust. The Dasher stumbled and dropped to its knees, damaged but not out. By now, the fire fight was truly beginning. Snow Raven Solahma Infantry from the APCs began pouring out of their vehicles and swarming around the damaged vehicle blocking the Bridge. Another salvo from the Scorpion and Saracen tanks and their lance mates blasted the Bridge with ER Large Laser fire and Long Range Missiles, sending men flying in tattered shreds of flesh and equipment. The ‘Mechs of the follow on enemy lance were carefully trying to make their way across the Bridge without crushing their allies, their long ranges weapons just beginning to return fire.

Kintaro flinched instinctively as the Arctic Wolf roared overhead. Its short range missile pack sailed over the entrenched men, their detonations sending shrapnel over their heads. Its medium laser was more effective, splashing inside a trench with several men. Kintaro could see at least two of his soldiers die as their cloths caught fire and their bodily fluids flash boiled instantly. The Sho-sa (Major) grimaced and snarled as his dying men gave the briefest of screams before they fell blessedly silenced.

The enemy Koshi ignored the infantry and instead focused on one of the tanks sending ballistic death to the Bridge below. Two ruby lances of light flashed from the 30 ton ‘Mech, burning armor and paint from the combat vehicle. A grinding, high pitch whine began inside the Ronin’s Infantry Support Lance’s Cizin, and Kintaro could guess that its turret was locked in place, either from melted armor or fried circuitry.

It was tempting to turn his fire on the two ‘Mechs, but Kintaro kept his focus on the enemy below, firing his rifle at the massed infantry still struggling to cross the Bridge. The two enemy ‘Mechs weren't going to be a problem much longer.

As soon as the Arctic Wolf landed, alarms flared to life in front of the pilot as four separate targeting computers painted it. The ‘Mech turned to face the new threat only in time to catch the full fury of Dragon’s Lair Lance. An assortment of four ER and pulse medium lasers, a full brace of MMLs from Gunjin (Private 1st Class) Suki Hachimoto’s and even a ER PPC blast from Chu-i (Lieutenant)Onyanko Soleng’s Rokurokubi cut into the medium sized scout ‘Mech. The pilot had barely acknowledge the death of his machine before he found himself propelled into the sky, his auto eject system saving his life as his ammunition stores erupted. The Koshi was being treated with the same courtesy from Red Dragon lance, the piece de resistance being the full throated roar of Gunsho (Sergeant) Christy Brinks LRM 15.

The Snow Raven army was tough, and determined, but they were also smart. Snow Raven soldiers may have kept running into the guns of Dragon’s Lair Lance, but the Snow Ravens knew when they were beat. With two ‘Mechs down, another seriously damaged and almost a full company of troops decimated, whoever was in charge of this unit was ready to cut his losses. The enemy infantry began to withdraw, climbing into their vehicles or simply running. It was almost impossible to move orderly when being shelled by indirect fire, but the Snow Ravens were doing their best. Even so, another vehicle went up in flames and a dozen men were torn apart by the Ronin's missile fire. In less than 2 minutes, more than a Trinary of troops had been decimated.

The Shadow Cat bravely stood its ground at the foot of the Bridge, its Hyper-Assault Gauss Rifle strafing the hill the Ronin’s were crouching behind. It was quickly becoming the sole focus of the Razan’s Ronin fury. Over 60 missiles leapt up from behind the hill as the vehicles of the Utility Lance, the Infantry Support Lance and the ‘Mechs of Red Dragon Lance moved forward. The Long Range Missiles impacted all around the machine as it held the line. The Dasher was just getting to its feet as Chi-i (Lieutenant) Onyanko and Sho-i (Lieutenant Senior Grade) Jing crested the hill.

Jing directed her fire against the 45 ton ‘Mech, letting Onyanko cover the infantry and pour her ‘Mech's fire into the lighter scout machine. The Shadow Cat stumbled backwards, its right arm hanging loosely. The Dasher was simply shredded as the Snub nose PPC of Jing's Shadow Hawk finished the damage to its left leg started by Ghost platoon. Unwilling to leave his comrade behind, the Shadow Cat move resolutely forward, kneeling in front of the prone ‘Mech and returning fire as much as he could with much reduced weaponry. It lasted only a second before the combined fire of multiple ‘Mechs and tanks converged on it, sending it to the ground one last time.

Kintaro looked up from his position, whistling softly at the damage. The Mungsten Bridge was in shambles, useless for anyone wishing to cross. In addition to the tons of destroyed vehicles and butchered bodies, cracks and gaps spread out from the center of the abused structure. It never ceased to amaze the veteran infantryman at the damage mankind could do in such a short time. It had been less than five minutes of battle and millions of Ryu worth of ‘Mechs, vehicles and infrastructure were destroyed, not to mention the dozens killed. Shaking himself mentally, Kintaro turned towards the direction of his Platoon Sergeant. "Hertzel!"

The dogged trooper quickly scooted over to his platoon leader, keeping low to avoid any last minute shots. He knew right away what his boss would ask, and was prepared to deliver the bad news. "Sir, we lost Frow, Koman, Rosendahl, Miller, Sir. No wounded."

Kintaro sighed to himself, ‘Mech size weapons rarely left wounded amongst dismounted troopers, and the four who died had at least died quickly. Still, it was a hell of thing to know that four men he had led into battle didn't make it out. It was only partially mollifying to know that they had given better than they had received. "All right, detail 1st squad to recover enemy wounded and surrenders. Disburse ammo amongst the rest".

Turning towards the east, the Sho-sa (Major) gazed towards the direction he knew Tai-sa (Colonel) and the rest of the Ronin’s were operating out of. "All right Oni, we bought you some time, hope you use it well."

WORD COUNT 2798

Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shadow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION

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Iceman
Posts: 66
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2016 10:51 pm
affiliations: Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Callsign: 'Iceman'
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage BA (DEST)
Battalion: DEST
Company: Shadow
Platoon: PA(L) DEST Platoon Alpha
Assignment: Breach
Role: Executive Officer
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: Draconis Combine

Re: Transcript for DC-DR-06-02 Diversionary Raid Stapelfeld

Postby Iceman » Fri Nov 10, 2017 3:42 pm

DC-DR-06-02 #29

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Ludendorff
Hamburg
Snow Raven’s AreoSpace Staging Facility
Hamburg Refinery
Conference Room
Saturday December 11th 3096 1700 hours Local

It had been snowing it non - stop it seemed for the past three days, the winds blowing the layers of powdery white clouds back and forth through the air as the ground crews readied the aerospace fighters for launch.

“Currently we are standing at 77% readiness with the remaining 23% reaching readiness conditions within the next 6 hours.” The Senior Crew chief sounded over the command audio. “With weather conditions looking to improve I would say we will be at 100% well in time for your 6 am launch window Star Colonel.”

Star Colonel Keeven Howe nodded his approval. “Very Good, If there are any unforeseen difficulties or issue’s that might arise I want to be informed at once.”

“Understood Sir … “ The Senior Crew Chief answered back.

Howe closed the audio link turning his attentions again to the make shift briefing room and the mission commanders awaiting his direction. “Shall we continue … ,“ He announced then motioning to the displays that cycled through the intelligence data gathered from the combat theater.

“The Razan’s Ronins, as they presume to call themselves, are for the most part a loosely organized pirate force composed of criminals and malcontents collected from the very worst that the Inner Sphere Freebirths has to offer.” The central display cycled to a profile image. ”Their current operational commander being one Onishi Razan and under her an assortment of officers and warriors who like herself have very … “ Howe snorted his amusement at his own words. “ …very colorful histories.”

“Our advantage rests in the untested strength of the Razan’s Ronins aerospace assets under the command of one Sho-sa (Force Commander) Torii Nashiro. Until recently the Razan’s Ronins by all reports had maintained a rather low aerospace profile focusing primarily on ground operations up until about a year and a half ago when it’s reported that there was a change in force doctrine and they began acquiring additional aerospace assets.” Howe cycled the display through the assets reports which highlighted the growth of the Razan’s Ronin’s aerospace assets. ”More to the point, the number or airframes we have been seeing over the combat theater for the past few days is double our pervious counts which suggests they have only just recently acquired nearly half of their current fighters.”

Howe paused long enough to let the details soak in before continuing. “Put in prospective what we are looking at is nearly 50% of our enemies aerospace assets are untested. I will not go so far as to call them green given that no doubt Misses Razan has bought the best that her money can buy … but untested in that these pilots will be. Pilots that have not yet had the time or experience to place their trust in this new master, this information alone paints a clear picture that these fliers will break and run at the first sign of any real danger.”

Howe nodded to himself in satisfaction. “Operation Halo begins at zero six - hundred hours at which time we will be launching our entire inventory into near orbit intent to confuse and draw our enemy out and away from the current theater. From their Additional aerospace assets will then launch as a single force from hidden staging area’s located through - out the combat theater to perform strike missions against vital enemy assets.”

Turning his attention back to his mission commanders Howe continued. “We will in good faith avenge our fallen and extract from our enemy payment for every drop of Snow Raven blood spilled on this world, and we will with all certainty crush these Razan’s Ronins and send them fleeing back to whatever rats nest of a world they call home.”



Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Neustadt
Ludendorff
Hamburg
Snow Raven’s AreoSpace Staging Facility
Hamburg Refinery
Cliff Side
Saturday December 12th 3096 0500 hours Local

Gingerly, Sho-i (Lieutenant Senior Grade) Jing Li fired her Shadow Hawk’s jump jets, propelling her up the vertical cliff. Landing a 55 ton war machine on narrow, snow and ice covered ledge, right on the edge of a precipice was no mean feat and the strain of repeatedly doing so was starting to wear her down. She set her ‘Mech down as gently as she could, setting off a cascade of ice and stones as she did so. She glanced behind her to check that the other five ‘Mechs of her command were still strung out behind her. The other three jumpers were Go-chu (Corporal) Deborah Depp in her Komodo, Gunjins (Private 1st Class) Kim Carn and Ise Fuqua in the Wolverine and Grasshopper, respectively. They were all equipped with ECM suites and the last two members of her command had stealth capabilities to boot, Shujin (Staff Sergeant) Fred Hanser in his Raven light ‘Mech and Go-chu (Corporal) Troy Vassik in his Jenner.

"There can't be much more of this surely?" Jing complained to her passenger.

Her passenger looked up from the holographic map displayed inside her helmet. "Just another km." She was a member of 20th Pesht Regulars Kishi Armor Squad, Go-chu (Corporal) Audrey Keldon was starting to regret her decision to suggest this approach. A jumping Shadow Hawk's armor was not meant for a squad of battle armor and even though Jing's had been modified with a hand holds the passenger's comfort Base had taken a distance second place to the pilots. Hanging on to the welded on hand clamps and foot stirrups she was beginning to lose the sensation in her legs. "Why do you even have these things?"

"Had it fitted in ‘93 for a Guerrilla Op on Dieron, never got around to having them removed." Jing replied. "If we get out of this, buy me a beer and I'll tell you the story."

"Worth hearing then?" Audrey asked. "Take the right valley it's easier."

"Oh yes, it has everything, damsels in distress, daring midnight rescues, car chases, ‘Mech duels." Jing replied with an air of exaggeration as he maneuvered her ‘Mech across the broken terrain.

"Of course it does." Audrey replied, not buying any of it. "Jump this one and we're over the worst of it."

"Got it." Jing fired her jump jets in response, clearing the sheer cliff in front of her. Ahead of her the mountain range opened up and she got her first view of the objective, a large facility split into three areas, a series of administrative blocks, a production facility and a series of storage tanks. She switched on the groups laser comms link. "Objective sighted, we're nearly there."

"Thank goodness for that!" Deborah replied, her Komodo ‘Mech had the least amount of suitable surfaces for transporting battle armor before someone had crammed a squad of Grey Death Armor onto what little spare room there had been.

"Any enemy forces?" Kim asked as he started to ascend the cliff in his Wolverine.

"Nothing seen." Jing responded. "Fred, any on the EM spectrum?"

"Wait out." Fred's Raven had the best sensors in Jing's force, but he was bringing up the rear of the formation and would need to crest the cliff before he could use them to their best effect. The rest of the force spread out and made for what cover was available as they waited for Fred to finish the assent.

"Scanning now, give me a minute." Fred flicked a few switches and then waited for his ‘Mechs computer to detect and catalogue any transmissions. He frowned as he read the readout. "Ah hell, I've got 4 units transmitted on microwave bands. 3 are down in the valley, 1's in facility. Seems they have a lot to talk about."

"Damn." Jing hadn't meant to say that out loud, she'd been hoping to find the place unguarded. "Right we're still going in. Fred, Troy, bypass the objective and keep an eye out for their reinforcements, do not engage. Kim, Ise you're with me, we're going to draw the boggy away from the storage tanks and into the admin area and defeat him there. Deborah, you're in reserve, back up our ground pounders."

"Why am I in reserve." Deborah complained, as far as she was concerned the only pay off for this mission had been the chance of combat at the end of it and she resented being side - lined.

"Because we've lost three Komodos in two battles to date and I don't need to lose a fourth." Jing replied in annoyance. Truth was she hadn't wanted to bring Deborah's ‘Mech along, nor Troy's Jenner. Both classes were proving too vulnerable against the Clans for her taste, but with so much of the battalion out of action there hadn't been much choice in the matter. At least she had no concerns about the pilots.

Taking her lack of response as acceptance Jing started her ‘Mech forwards. "Let's do this. Red Dragon Force, on me!"

With little cover and only open ground to cover, Red Dragon Force dispensed with subtly and charged full pelt towards their objective. It was all about speed and audacity now, they had to complete their mission and be gone before reinforcements arrived or they were sure to be overrun.

Keying her mic, "What about the fifth?" Audrey asked.

"What?" Jing had to shout to be heard over the noise in the cockpit as her ‘Mech pounded its way forwards.

"Only 4 signals, there should be 5." Audrey pointed out.

"I know; I'm betting on it not being here." Jing replied, dead serious.

"That's a ridiculous plan." Audrey exclaimed before adding a belated. "Sir."

"I know that too." Jing replied without taking offense. "But it's the only one I've got. We're here, dismount."

The six ‘Mechs smashed through the facility’s chain link fence and slowed to a halt. Each ‘Mech came to a complete halt and a twenty four armored infantryman leapt from various perches to the ground below.

Jing switched to radio, they weren't trying to hide now. "Good luck everyone. See you on the other side." ‘Where had that come from?’, she wondered. It wasn't something she normally said before battle, it was a Ronin saying and a fairly morbid one at that; with a double meaning. She shook off that train of thought. She didn't have time for that right now. She had a job to do. She moved her ‘Mech into the streets between the administrative buildings while Kim and Ise fanned out in an extended line to her right and left. Their short lance moved slowly, the haphazard layout of the administrative buildings made for a claustrophobic battlefield with numerous dead ends and short lines of sight. Jing swept her Snub nosed PPC arm across from side to side as she crossed an intersection. "Kim slow down; you're getting ahead of us." She transmitted. "Ise, close up or call a halt, I'm losing your beacon."

"I've got something." Ise transmitted. "Just been pinged … oh hell." The sound of weapons fire and impacts came clean across the radio. "Gargoyle, it's a bloody Gargoyle."

"Stay calm Ise, we're coming. Evade until we get there." Jing ordered as she wrenched her ‘Mech around, firing her jump jets to clear the building in front of her. "Kim, flank left, I'm going up the middle."

On the other side of the field Audrey felt like a tag along kid as she followed the squads of armored infantry through the factory floor towards the storage tanks. Whoever was responsible for spreading the one - unit message had obviously skipped the attached battle armor. Sho-sa (Major) Tanaka 'Iceman' Kintaro had been put in command and he'd handpicked his best men for the job, all original Ronins, most from the Combine. He'd also made it very clear that Audrey and her squad were only invited because they were the guides and were otherwise to stay out of the way.

"This door's locked." She heard a Grey Death Scout whisper back. Automatically the Ronin squads took up defensive fire positions, their sleek M61A Laser Rifles contrasting to the clunky locally produced automatic rifle her squad had been issued with. Audrey had her Kishi armor Squad take up a positions, aiming back down the way they had come. The scout slung his rifle and started to get to work with a set of lock picks. Then the lights went out.

"What the hell." Someone exclaimed, right before machine gun fire ripped through the locked door. The scout and his cover man never stood a chance, both were cut down before they could react. The rest threw themselves down and tried to return fire as best they could. They fired blindly through the door for the longest twenty seconds of Audrey's life when, as suddenly as it had started, the machine gun fire stopped, then an armored fist punched its way through the ruined door.

"ProtMech!" Tai-i (Captain) Duane Johnson shouted a warning to the rest of the squads as the door started to give way. ‘Iceman’ didn't hesitate. "Pull back!" he ordered as he dragged Audrey to her feet, pushing her in front of him as they ran back the way they came. More machine gun fire sounded behind them and another cry of pain as the rear man, a Nighthawk PA(L), was cut down. Hearts pounding, they ran through the building, dodging between rows of electrolysis tanks and humming machinery, all the time aware of the pounding footsteps of the all but bullet proof ProtoMechs chasing them.

Audrey reached the door first, wrenching it open she turned to the others. "This way." She shouted only for ‘Iceman’ to shove his rucksack with the demolition charges and squad radio into her arms and then push her threw the door.

"What the hell Sho-sa (Major)?" She exclaimed.

"Go, we'll buy you some time, don't waste it." ‘Iceman’ ordered. "Duane, take your Nighthawk squad and a Grey Death Squad go right. Chan, take Romeo and Victor Squads and flank them to the left. I’ll hold here with the DEST Kage Squad in the middle."

"Roger Sho-sa (Major)." Duane replied as he loaded his underslung grenade launcher and took off into cover.

"But you don't stand a chance." Audrey responded, appalled.

Kintaro graced her with a short, truly sinister laugh. "You don’t know us very well. We’re Ronin. See you on the other side Go-Chu (Corporal)." With that ‘Iceman’ slammed the door shut and shouted, “Daddy’s Home! Come and get some Mu’phukkaz!” To himself he thought, ‘And I just got this suit repaired from the last ProtoMech hand to hand and here we go a-phukkin-gain!’

Paralyzed with shock, Audrey stood there for a moment until the sound of gunfire shook her out of her daze. "Damn them." She swore as she signaled her squad and they started running down a service road that she hoped led to the storage tanks. They made nearly 300m before the sound of jump jets being fired made her stop. The inhumanly grotesque shape of a Clan ProtoMech leapt down from the roof top, blocking the road ahead. Audrey froze and could only look on as it raised its weapons arm to fire as the rest of her team opened fire.

"Get down!" She heard a female voice transmitted over a loud speaker and instinctively hit the ground as a half a dozen ruby red beams rained down on the lone ProtoMech, destroying it along with much of the street it was standing on. Audrey looked up to see Deborah's Komodo standing on a nearby roof top.

"Don't just stand there." Deborah transmitted again as she fired another barrage of lasers over Audrey's head into a point of ProtoMechs forming up on a nearby roof top. "Get moving! I'll cover you." Picking herself up, Audrey and her team ran as Deborah fired her jump jets, switching positions and drawing the ProtoMechs away from the lone Kishi Squad. She fired another volley and gritted her teeth as most of the 5cm lasers went wide. 'Damn these things are tough!' she thought to herself as her computer recorded only a single kill for the expenditure of raising her heat to the red line zone. A number of return SRMs impacted her Komodo as she relocated again. To her surprise a point of Elementals leapt up from her new vantage point, trying to swarm her ‘Mech. "Oh no you don't!" she shouted out loud as she lashed out with her ‘Mech's right fist, swatting one of the Elementals out of the air before firing her jump jets again to shake off the rest of the point. To her immense satisfaction she watched the Elemental tumble through the air before smashing into a roof top. Then, to her horror, she saw it stand up and fire its jump jets to re - join its point. 'Far too tough!'

. . .

"Hold on, Ise, nearly there." Jing almost shouted down the radio as she used his jump jets to vault another building that was blocking her way. She could see that Ise's ‘Mech was taking a pounding on her HUD and knew she probably wouldn't last much longer. Behind and to her left Kim was bringing her Wolverine round on a flanking manoeuver. Mere tens of meters away Jing rounded a corner to see Ise's Grasshopper firing down a side street, great chucks of armor had been ripped from its chassis while the left arm hung limp and useless by its side. Ise fired off a volley of twin Snub nose PPC s and tried to duck back out of sight, but not quick enough, two ER Large Laser bolts tore into the right torso, smashing through the weakened armor and tearing the arm clean off. Ise stumbled, but managed to keep her footing as she moved back into cover.

"Damn glad to see you boss. D model, 200m down that street, he's proper got my number, smashed my ‘Mech to bits." Ise radioed to Jing, pain evident in her voice.

"You've done all you can, get out of here." Jing replied, adrenalin coursing through her veins. "We've got this. Kim you in place?"

"Twenty seconds out." Kim replied.

"Let's do this then!" Jing took a few steps back to give her and run up and then threw her Shadow Hawk's throttle wide open. Bursting into the entrance of the side street she fired a blast from her Snub nosed PPC into the advancing Gargoyle then threw her ‘Mech through the wall of the building across the street. Laser fire searing the air behind her as her unexpected maneuver threw off her enemy's aim.

'One hundred eighty meters, I can make that!' Turning her ‘Mech around Jing pushed her way through the collapsing admin building and back onto the street, firing another blast from her Snub Nose as she did so. Return fire from the Gargoyle slashed groves into her armor as she closed the distance, pushing right up to the assault ‘Mech's face as she switched to her ER medium lasers and LRMs, rents in the Gargoyle’s armor blossomed across the assault ‘Mech's torso from the LRMs which didn’t have time to properly arm themselves at such a close distance, even as Jing lashed out with her ‘Mech's foot. But, the Gargoyle nimbly skipped back, avoiding the blow. As Jing stumbled, the Gargoyle pulled back, opening up the distance and pounding its lighter opponent with laser fire from its paired ER Large Lasers and trio of Medium Pulse Lasers. Jing's ‘Mech rocked backwards under the repeated impacts as she tried to return fire.

"Armor breach right torso, armor breach left leg." Her computer sounded the warning as the last of the armor on her left leg evaporated. Gritting her teeth, Jing fired her jump jets, landing atop a two story admin building as she continued to return fire. The Gargoyle turned to track her, but was rocked in turn by a ER Large Laser impact from behind, Kim's Wolverine had finally joined the fight.

"Sorry I'm late Jing." Kim radioed as she rapidly closed the distance on the surprised Snow Raven ‘Mech.

"Right on!" Jing shouted as she fired her jump jets again, back down onto the street and face to face with her enemy. The two Ronins pressed their attack closely, surrounding their heavier opponent, trapping him in the street. But the Snow Raven pilot fought back with skill and courage. Turning his ‘Mech sideways he split his fire between his attackers, giving neither respite to attack undisturbed, while protecting his weak rear armor. Slowly his heavier weapons load began to take its toll, even though his armor was scored and damaged from numerous weapons impacts he was beginning to gain the upper hand.

The heat in Jing's cockpit had climbed unacceptably high as she overtaxed her ‘Mechs heat sinks to up her rate of fire. She'd switched off the warning alarms, she knew most of her armor was gone, she didn't need reminding every five seconds. Suddenly the Gargoyle swung round, bringing all its weapon systems to bear on Jing's ‘Mech. Jing swore as the alpha strike slammed into her, numerous critical hit warnings filled her HUD. Her right knee joint gave way and she stumbled back, falling through a wall as she lost her balance. Jing's head slammed into the side of her command chair as her ‘Mech hit the ground hard, the rest of the building following shortly afterwards burying her in the rubble.

"Kim, make a break for it!" Jing ordered as she tried to regain her footing. "We're not going to win this one."

"No chance, I'm not leaving you." Kim shouted as she pressed her attack, fists pounding the upper torso of her much larger opponent, seeking his head. Weapons impacts tore into Kim's ‘Mech, concentrated laser fire ripped off his SRM rack, then destroyed the ER Large Laser barrel. The next blast tore into her ‘Mechs torso, the heat in her cockpit spiking as her fusion hydroelectric power plant shielding was critical damaged. Defiantly, Kim returned fire with her medium pulse lasers even as she overrode her ‘Mech's emergency shut system. The Gargoyle advanced regardless, its arms raised for the final shot.

"Die you bastard, die!" Jing shouted as her ‘Mech tore itself free from the rubble and surged to its feet, swinging a steel girder like a club into the side of the Gargoyle. The Snow Raven pilot stumbled back and returned fire, the impacts setting off yet more warnings in Jing's cockpit. Disregarding them she pressed forwards, swinging her improvised club overhead and smashing it down on the Gargoyle's head, crushing the cockpit.

"Thank Buddha’s lucky stars for that." Jing felt exhausted as the adrenaline started to drain from her body. The girder fell to the ground as it slipped from her ‘Mech's grasp. "Kim you ok?"

"Been better," Kim complained. "Mech's pretty banged up, but I can make it back. Got the bastard though didn't we?" She finished with a wide smile.

"That we did. I think we'll share the kill on that one." Jing replied with a grin. "Let's get out of here. We're all but done here."

. . . .

Far to the east, Audrey could hear the on - going battle but had no idea who was winning. To the best of her ability she blotted it out, concentrating on her squad placing the demolition charges against the base of the storage tanks. They were a two phase device. The first, relatively 'cold' would crack the structure of the storage tank, releasing the gas but not initially setting it alight. The second charge would act as an ignitor creating an explosion not dissimilar to a fuel air bomb on a grand scale. As a failsafe it was deliberately large enough to set fire to the storage tank, ensuring that as a worst case scenario the tanks themselves would burn even if the facility as a whole survived. That was the theory anyway, the devices themselves were Hodge Podge jobs made from spare SRM and LRM warheads. Audrey just hoped they worked at all.

As her demolitions expert positioned the last charge, he signaled her with a thumbs up and she flicked the activation switch and picked up her radio. "All squads, all squads, mission is green, repeat mission is green." She rattled off the code phrase for charges set and then her Kishi Squad took off running. The timer was set for 15 minutes, which was both an eternity and no time at all, especially when pick up was nearly 2km away.

Audrey's lungs burned as they hurtled down the service road through the production facility and towards the Rendevous point. She took a sharp left and then a right as she ran through the maze of service roads. Emerging from an alley way, her blood ran cold as she realized their way was blocked. An injured ProtoMech, its armor serious damaged in the fight with Deborah, was limping its way down the street towards her Squad. It hadn't seen them yet, but Audrey wasn't in the mood to take chances, she half threw herself through the nearest doorway, bursting into a long hall full of machinery.

She checked her watch and then signaled her team and they took off running again. 'We've still got time, We’re good.' She reassured them as they ran, pounding up a set of stairs towards the fire escape at the end of the building. Lowering her shoulder, she ran straight at the door, but it didn't budge. She tried again, but once more it refused to move. Her second in command tried it, too. Audrey cursed out loud and lowered her automatic rifle, firing three long bursts into the area around the locking ‘Mechanism. She tried to open it again, but to no avail. She couldn't believe it; some ass had locked the fire escape. Quickly she scanned the area looking for alternative exits. The windows were barred and too small for Kishi armor anyway. She hadn't seen any other doors as they'd ran through the structure, nor any roof access. She checked her watch, only five minutes to go, nowhere near enough time to backtrack all the way to the only door she knew of. Audrey grabbed her radio.

"This is Go-chu (Corporal) Keldon’s Kishi Armor Squad, last surviving squad of the Battle Armor team. I'm trapped in one of the production buildings and need pick up asap."

For what seemed like a life time the line stayed dead before Jing responded. "I'm coming for you Audrey. Where are you?"

"I'm not entirely sure." Audrey replied with a calmness she didn't feel.

"Find a window and use a mini flare." Jing instructed. The sound of jump jets firing could be heard over the radio.

A Heishi (Private) dug out the mini flares from his combat webbing. The 20th didn't issue them and they had forgotten they’d been given a set. The container was barely the size of a hip flask and crucially the flares didn't need a flare gun to fire. Using the butt of her rifle, Audrey smashed the glass out of the nearst window and fired a flare though it.

"Ok I saw that." More jump jet sounds came across the radio. "Fire another one."

Audrey put up another flare, watching the red illumination streak up into the sky. She checked her watch, three minutes.

"Nearly there … bloody ProtoMechs." Audrey could hear the weapons fire now as Jing neared her location. "Ok one more."

Just two minutes to go as Audrey put up another mini - flare.

"I see you, stand well back."

Audrey took cover as a Shadow Hawk's battle fist tore through the fabric of the building, punching an exit hole and providing a bridge at the same time. "Come on then!" Jing shouted as she kneeled her ‘Mech's down on one knee. Audrey needed no encouragement, ditching her rifle she cambered up the perpendicular ‘Mech's leg and grabbed ahold of clamps on the ‘Mechs torso and waited for her team to signal that they were all firmly attached.

"Hold on." Jing shouted as she swung her ‘Mech about and started to run for the mountains. The right knee was still giving her problems, but it held as Jing pushed the Shadow Hawk to its limits. Ahead the rest of the force, including ‘Iceman’ and his battle armor squads, had already retired beyond the first peak, leaving only Jing and the Kishi Squad in the danger zone. Audrey stared at her watch as it counted down. "We're not going to make it."

"We're gonna make it." Jing replied through gritted teeth, as much to reassure herself as Audrey and her other passengers.

"We're not going to make it." Audrey repeated anxiously, by her watch there were mere seconds to go.

"Yes ... we … are!" Jing ignited her jump jets, throwing her Shadow Hawk up the slope as the first stage charges went off with a muffled thud. The second stage followed, igniting an almighty explosion, just as Jing's Shadow Hawk disappeared beneath the ridge.

"Told you we would make it."

WORD COUNT 4929

Joint post between:

Name: MyKayla
Callsign: ‘Sy-Berian Starr’
Rank: Sho-ka (Master Sergeant)
Hardware: Daboku DCMS MX92 E
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Dragon Sword
Assignment: Assault
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE

&


Name: Tanaka Kintaro
Callsign: ‘Iceman’
Rank: Sho-sa (Major)
Hardware: Kage (DEST II)
Battalion: Draconis Elite Strike
Company: Shadow
Platoon: Alpha (Breach)
Squad: Command
Assignment: CO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
HOUSE: DRACONIS COMBINE





DC-DR-06-02 #30

Draconis Combine
Pesht Military District
Stapelfeld
Inner Alster
Greenwich
Highland
Southern Peninsula
Razan’s Ronins LZ
Overlord Class DropShip
FlagShip
Heaven Scent
Deck Three
Tai-sa (Colonel) Quarters
Saturday December 12th 3096 0800 hours Local

"You wanted to see me Tai-sa (Colonel)." The Ronin Legion’s Battalion XO, Sho-sa (Major) Owen ‘Kestrel’ Callaghan, ducked into Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi ‘Rough Ryder’ Razan's office. Owen was fresh from a patrol with his helmet under his arm and coolant jacket slung on one shoulder.

"Yes, about the patrol rotas. Good work for the most part, but one problem, I'm not on them." Onishi replied doing her best to sound surprised rather than annoyed.

Owen weighed up his options and decided for honesty. "I felt you would benefit from a rest."

Onishi felt her body tense and forced herself to relax. 'He is trying to help.' She reminded herself. 'No, he ‘IS’ helping, so be respectful.'

"I appreciate your concern, but we’re down to only 19 functioning ‘Mechs, we can't be one down because the pilot is 'tired'." She replied, she tried hard for amicable disagreement, but couldn't quite remove a slight edge from her tone.

"Ma’am, with all due respect, you need to rest." Owen argued.

"What I need to is get out of this office and do the one job I'm actually good at." With effort Onishi moderated her tone and continued. "I can't just sit here and stew, besides the troops need to see their commander out and about as if everything is fine, especially as it isn’t." She sighed heavily and visibly relaxed. "Look I'm either benched, or on patrol, which is it?"

Owen hesitated for a moment. "I'll get the rota amended." He said with a frown and turned to leave.

"Owen."

"Yes?" He halted in the hatchway.

"Thank you for being honest."

He offered a very slight half smile. "Anytime."

So it was that two hours later Onishi found herself strapping herself into her 95 ton Naginata. The mood in the ‘Mechbay had certainly improved, half an hour ago an immense mushroom cloud had been spotted on the horizon and that meant two things. That Jing's mission was a success and that they would be leaving soon.

"Systems green. You good Fenwick?"

"Ready." Jenni Fenwick replied over the laser line. The unit was on radio silence at the minute trying to avoid detection, but the lasers were typically safe to use.

"Move out then." Onishi eased her ‘Mech out of its cubical and down the Dropship's ramp. Behind her Jenni Fenwick carefully maneuvered the Ronin’s Dragon’s Lair Lance’s Locust to follow. The two ‘Mechs passed out beyond the infantry outposts and into the rolling hills and forests the Ronins were using to try and hide the Heaven Scent’s great bulk. Neither ‘Mechwarrior spoke as they began their looping patrol. Onishi recognized the problem, Jenni was a Snow Raven Bondsmen captured from the Forward Observation Base and couldn't be expect to be acclimatized in such a short time. As the ranking officer it was her job to ensure she was integrated into the team and made to feel welcome. Thing was, Onishi couldn't think of anything she wanted to talk about, so she let the silence drag on. In the end Jenni broke the silence first.

"So, I figured there would be more barked orders."

There was a delay before Onishi's confused response. "Why?"

"Well after the hanger bay I kinda figured that was your leadership style. Not sure catatonic is much of an improvement, but it's something I guess."

Onishi nearly laughed, she also felt a growing desire to punch someone. Instead she grit her teeth and forced her brain to think. "Mechwarriors in Ronin's units don't talk to senior officers this way. Who are you?"

"Star Commander Jenni Fenwick, Clan Snow Raven, Delta Galaxy, 6th Raven Battle Cluster, Striker Star." Jenni replied with more than a hint of pride.

"But that's not what you told Sho-sa (Major) Callaghan. Why the deception?" Onishi asked.

"Because I wasn't planning on sticking about. Figured I'd fight with you guys just long enough to get off world then re - join my unit." Jenni replied.

"So why tell me now?"

"Well I figure that it's probably going to be a while before I can re - join my unit. I also figure that I'm more likely to survive to re - join my unit if I stick with you guys and we're all more likely to survive if I'm using my skills rather than hiding them. Plus, I noticed you've got no officers in either of your light lances, so I figured you've got an opening."

“You use contractions?”

“Yeah, I’m not a canister baby. I’m Freebirth.”

"Well Freebirth, You figure a lot." Onishi replied, stuck half way between being impressed and being greatly annoyed. She paused to consider her options carefully before replying. "Ok, after this patrol report to Sho-sa (Major) Owen Callaghan, tell him everything you have told me and tell him I think you're a candidate for command of Wind Dragon Lance with temporary oversight of ‘Dragon Lady’. If you pass her, jobs yours."

"Thank you Ma’am." Jenni sounded pleased with herself.

"Don't thank me yet. We've fought in two battles so far and lost a light lance leader in both." Onishi replied grimly.

"Oh." Jenni replied, slightly taken aback as the conversation died out.

The two mismatched ‘Mechs continued their patrol in silence. Threading in and out of woodland but going around the hill tops, avoiding becoming silhouetted against the rising sun.

"Ma’am, I think I've got a contact." Jenni lasered Onishi. "I'm picking up a radar signal, doesn't look like it's one of ours."

"Direction?" Onishi asked.

"One o'clock, maybe 2000 meterrs and closing fast…" her voice tailed off. "Got another signal, same direction, definite fix for a Clan radar system, it's not one of ours for sure. Time to return to the dropship?"

"Yes, it is. Go back at best speed and warn them, don't break radio silence." Onishi ordered.

"Leave you behind?" Jenni replied surprised.

"I'll slow you down too much." Onishi explained.

"I'm not leaving you on your own." Jenni protested, somethings just weren't done in her books and leaving a member of the team behind was one of them.

"If you're going to work for me Star Commander you will learn there are times to ignore my orders and times to follow them. This is the later, now move!" Onishi replied harshly. There was a noticeable pause.

"Roger that, Ma’am. Understood." Jenni's Locust took off at full speed, quickly disappearing from view. Onishi watched her leave before slowly pushing her Naginata back into a wooded area. She wasn't 100% sure that had been the right call, but if it came to a fight the Locust was going to be a liability. This way she could at least fight unhindered.

Switching off her active radar, but leaving the passive one on, she slowly made her way back to the dropship, trying to be as stealthy as an 95 ton assault ‘Mech could manage. The enemy was close enough now that her sensors could make out at least five distinct emission sources. Onishi's mind raced as she worked through the possibilities. If they continued on their current course they couldn't possibly miss the great bulk of the Ronin’s grounded DropShips and even if they were only a star in strength they would be more than a match for the understrength defenders. Unless they were slowed up. Unless someone brought some time for the infantry to get their weapons in place and for the ‘Mechwarriors and tankers to form a coherent defense. She watched a Dire Wolf break cover to her right and sprint off in the same direction as Jenni had, the pilot must have seen her. Onishi swore out loud. 'This is a really stupid plan.' She thought as she flicked her sensors into active mode, lined up the shot with her ER PPC and fired, blowing a chunk of armor off the Dire Wolf's right arm.

"I am Tai-sa (Colonel) Onishi Razan, commanding officer of Razan’s Ronin. I challenge you."

The Dire Wolf slowed and turned to consider its challenger. The pilot was under no obligation to accept the duel. His objective was to find the enemy DropShips, not get into fights with a ‘Mech a mere 5 tons lighter than his own. Yet, how many Inner Sphere pilots had been willing to fight duels?

"I am Star Colonel Alberto Francesca of Clan Snow Raven, Alpha Galaxy, 6th Raven Battle Cluster; I accept your challenge to a duel of warriors. In this solemn matter let no one interfere."

Instantly the Dire Wolf surged forwards, its sudden movement throwing off Onishi's aim, her next shot landing behind its fleet target. Francesca returned fire even as Onishi slunk deeper into the woods. The first ER PPC bolt exploded a tree to her right, but the second shot rang true, blue lightning enveloped the Naginata's left torso as a great chunk of armor was blown away. Onishi grit her teeth, half snarling as she fired again, striking the Dire Wolfs chest, then seconds later using her jump jets to leap sideways as her enemy's return fire slashed through the foliage. The Dire Wolf kept its speed up, dodging from cover to cover as the duel turned into a running battle, each pilot ducking out of cover just long enough to fire before quickly returning to cover to avoid the return fire while their ER PPCs recharged. The duel had attracted an audience, three of Francesca's command star had gathered to watch their commander duel with the enemy commander. Another weapon’s strike threw Onishi about in her harness as the impact from the twin ER PPCs threatened to knock her ‘Mech off its feet. While she'd started the duel with nearly twice as much armor, she had only a third of the long range firepower and most locations were showing yellow damage warnings now. She returned fire with her twin Shigunga, 20 rack, long range missile launchers. Fortunately for her they were Clan made and were not limited to the same range restriction as their Inner Sphere counterparts so they were armed the moment they spat from the launch tubes. She was rewarded by a series of basket ball sizes pock marks as her warheads found a weak spot in her opponent's right arm, locking the shoulder and elbow actuators and rendering that arm's ERPPC nearly useless. Regardless, the Dire Wolf kept firing, an ER PPC blast stripped more armor off the Naginata's left leg while Francesca closed the range to bring his ER Medium Lasers and SSRM6 into play. Recognizing the opportunity, Onishi started to back up, encouraging Francesca to pursue, she rode the damage as the Dire Wolf's more powerful weapons fire stripped off armor by the ton. She let Francesca over commit and then threw her ‘Mech into full forward, even giving a touch of jump jets to halt her rearward momentum. Too late Francesca realized his mistake and tried to back up, but Onishi's Naginata was already bearing down on him. Extended Range Medium lasers and LRMs pounded the Dire Wolf's already weakened armor, wreaking havoc upon its internals. Francesca turned his ‘Mech and tried to extend the range, but Onishi was already within melee range. She kicked out, the Naginata's right foot smashing into the Dire Wolf's already weakened leg armor, bending the left knee joint back and causing the Dire Wolf to stumble. Francesca didn't flinch, he kept firing right up until the Naginata's fist crashed into his ‘Mech's head, knocking him unconscious and the Dire Wolf to the ground.

Onishi controlled her breathing, her ‘Mech was hunched over her fallen opponent like a boxer that had just landed a knockout blow. She straightened up and faced her audience, before addressing them.

"Who's next." She demanded contemptuously.

The heaviest standing Clan ‘Mech, a Nova, didn't hesitate.

"I am Dresden of the 6th Raven Battle Cluster Command Star, I challenge you to a duel of warriors, let no…" A ER PPC blast interrupted the ‘Mechwarrior's speech as Onishi impatiently opened fire.

"Less talking, more dying." Onishi taunted her opponent as he tried to close the range. Furious as she was, Dresden was having nothing of it. He knew he had a handsome firepower advantage at range and with the Naginata's armor already worn down he fully intended to take advantage of that fact. Changing tact, Onishi took off at a right angle, extending the range rather than trying to shrink it. Caught off guard, Dresden was briefly outside his weapons range while still taking LRM fire from the Naginata.

"Dezgra coward, come back here and fight." Dresden cursed Onishi as he turned his ‘Mech to chase Onishi's Naginata as it ran towards a series of wooded patches.

"What's wrong Clanner. Scared of the dark?" Onishi retorted as she dodged between stands of trees. Dresden wasn't to know that this area was full of small but very thick wooded trees that cut line of sight down to 200 meters at best. Onishi knew, previous patrols had reported on it as an ideal place for close quarters fighters, fighters like Onishi. Carefully not to break line of sight, Onishi drew Dresden in closer, forcing him into a knife fight where the only way to extend the range would be a dishonorable retreat. The two ‘Mechs exchanged volleys at nearly point blank range as Dresden carefully kept himself just out of reach of Onishi's fists. His superior firepower started to take effect as Onishi's already weakened armor started to give way. The heat in the Naginata's cockpit steadily rose as the damage accumulated, already the right arm was locked at 45 degree angle by a damage shoulder joint, the ER PPC effectively useless, then one of the ER medium lasers went black on the HUD, torn out by the Nova's laser fire. Onishi gritted her teeth and rode the fire as she traded volleys. Slowly the Nova's armor was being worn down as well. She knew she just needed to hold on just a little longer. There was a sickening crunch as the Naginata's left knee took a direct hit. The joint held for a moment and then gave way, causing Onishi's ‘Mech to crash to the foliage covered ground. In triumph, Dresden drew closer to fire the killing salvo, the audience closed in to witness the kill. Laser fire played over the Naginata as it propped itself up on its good arm and fire a defiant volley. The three remaining ER medium lasers stripped off the last of the Nova's torso armor and twelve of the HE LRMs bit deeply into the Nova’s chest, damaging Dresden's gyro. Off balance the Nova tumbled to the ground as Onishi fought with her controls to drag her Naginata back to its feet. Loaming over the fallen Nova she fired another volley before smashing her ‘Mech's good leg through the center of the Nova's torso. Onishi stumbled as she put all her weight on her ‘Mechs damaged leg, but somehow managed to stay upright. She slowly turned to the two remaining Clan ‘Mechs.

"Next." She said simply.

The two remaining clan ‘Mechs turned slightly to face one another, almost as if deliberating. Finally, the Ice Ferret stepped forwards.

"You have fought bravely, but your ‘Mech cannot continue the fight. We offer you Hegira, free withdrawal from the field."

A quick glance at Onishi's HUD would have shown her that she had almost no armor left, half her weapons were disabled and numerous internal systems were damaged. Onishi didn't even look, totally focused on the fight at hand, any concerns or second thoughts hidden behind a haze of pain and anger.

"I didn't come here to run from a fight." She half snarled as she tried to bring her ER PPC up to force the matter. Try as she might, the locked shoulder joint wouldn't let it rotate enough to bring it into a firing position.

"None the less, we will not fight you. Our star mate has completed our mission and there is no honor to be gained in destroying a crippled ‘Mech. I am Seong Vickers of Clan Snow Raven; I hope to see you on the field of battle in the future." With that, the two remaining Clan ‘Mechwarriors turned and left.

Onishi felt infuriated, robbed and also very tired. It was several minutes before the rest of the regiment found her as she stood amongst the devastation caused by her duel with the Nova. A slightly mischievous smile crossed her face as she responded to their hails with the first thing that popped into her head.

"Your late, parties already over."



……………….



The noise in the ‘Mechbay was almost unbearable as personal lined the railing to cheer the returning warriors. Both Onishi and Jing had returned at roughly the same time and the good news starved Regiment had taken the opportunity to celebrate their first undisputed victories. Onishi tried to smile as she forced her way through the crowd, shaking hands and swapping well wishes as she tried to hide the pain her burnt right arm was causing her. Owen forced his way over to her, signaling her lance to spread out and create some space.

"I have no idea if I'm supposed to bench you or recommend you for a medal after that." Owen said, half - jokingly.

"Just buy me a beer in the mess, safest for your sanity." Onishi shot back with a smile, a slightly forced smile, but a smile none the less.

"Don't worry, she does this all the time." Reece shouted as he pushed his way over to the group. "Good to have you back Oni." He said as he clasped his friend on the shoulder. Onishi winced.

"Infirmary?" Owen asked.

"Infirmary." Onishi replied simply.

Owen and Reece started to clear a path when they were intercepted by Jing's party.

"You just had to upstage me!" Jing complained in mock anger. "We bring down a Gargoyle and you go and pick a fight with an entire star just to show us up!" She broke out in a massive smile. "Must have been a hell of a fight, I can't wait to hear the story."

Onishi paused for a second taken aback and then threw her head back and laughed. "I want to hear your story; that was the biggest explosion I've ever seen."

Jing beamed. "You think it was big from here, I was standing in the middle of it! And Tai-sa (Colonel) you be pleased to know, at the instant the mushroom cloud from the explosion appeared, the 20th, who were already loaded inside their ‘Mech transports, boosted for their Pirate Point."

“Fantastic! Mission accomplished. Now about that story.”

"Infirmary first, mess stories latter." Owen interjected firmly as he steered the group out of the hanger. "Love, can you take over here?"

"Of course I can." Terri replied with mock indignation. She climbed up onto the salvaged wreck of the Dire Wolf, put her fingers in her mouth and let out a long piecing whistle. Eventually the crowd settled down to listen to her. Terri tried to put a stern face on, but the party atmosphere was infectious and she couldn't quite manage it, so she went the other way and put on her best parody sergeant major voice instead.

"Right then you horrible lot!"

The cheering and laughter picked up again, she waited for it to subside.

"No - one told you to stop working. Get your stuff stowed, we are leaving!"

A chorus of "Yes Ma'am's" and yet more cheering greeting that announcement, even as the crowd began to disperse to their duties. From her elevated vantage point Terri looked down and smiled in satisfaction at the Regiment that at this point, was effectively hers. Movement caused her to look down into the Dire Wolf's view port. She called a passing sergeant over.

"Sergeant, collect a prisoner escort. This Clanner's not dead."

WORD COUNT 3377

Name: Onishi Razan
Callsign: ‘Rough Ryder'
Rank: Tai-sa, Commanding
Hardware: Naginata NG-RO1
Battalion: Ronin Legion
Company: Katana
Lance: Fire Dragon
Assignment: MUCO
Unit: Razan's Ronins
House: DRACONIS COMBINE
Name: Kintaro Tanaka
Rank: Colonel
Callsign: 'Iceman'
MH: Steele Dagger Spec Ops BA
Role: DEST
Assignment: CO Battle Armor Regiment
Platoon: Black Ops
Company: SWAT
Battalion: HQ Battalion
Regiment: Smilodon
RESTLESS SOULS MERCENARY DIVISION


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