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> The Path of a Mechwarrior, a record of lost time
Captain Desparado
post Nov 29 2006, 05:02 AM
Post #16



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As this woman finished speaking the side door of the room opened and there entered two men. They shook hands and made parting comments before one of them left. The man remaining was a tall broad-shouldered man with blazing red hair. One wouldn't describe him as being a fat man, but no one would claim that he was particularly well muscled either. He was clad in a snug looking suit of the latest style. His smile was framed by well a well groomed beard that matched his hair, but it could not hide the wrinkles at either corner of his mouth. I could tell that this man was not unaccustomed to smiling and hearty laughter. He stepped forward and extended a large hand to no one in particular, making himself appear approachable to our entire group. I accepted his hand with my own as he introduced himself in a loud cheery voice.

Welcome! Xander Cole, pleased to meet you all! What can I do for you today?

Yes sir, Commander Kyle Iscariot.

Ah, Yes, the pair of custom Catapults right? No! Sorry, you reserved the Maurader correct?

Yes, thats right. The Maurader. I was hoping to get a better look at it before finalizing the sale if thats possible.

Of course! We can arrange easily! Please come with me!

Mr Cole released my whitening hand from his massive palm and held the door he had just entered from open, gesturing for us to pass through. Inside the hanger was an impressive amount of firepower. Were it all manned, I would not doubt that even to a clan invasion force it would be intimidating opposition. Several Assault mechs formed near the rear of the hanger and the heavies were packed in before them. Most of the hanger was occupied by a myriad of different tanks in as many different conditions. Nestled beside twin Catapults and a Centurion was my new Maurader.

It looked in slightly ratty shape. Edges were worn down to smoothed corners and seams didn't quite look sealed. Dust was packed tightly into every scratch and creavice, paint was faded and the Ferroalloys had long lost their lustrious shine. My guess was it was probably owned by a Merc prior to finding its way into Xander Cole's hands. Most mercs didn't have time to detail their mechs and put a lot of care into them. Nor did they had a steady crew of technicians that were familiar with a certain few mechs, it was always some team of anonymous laborers with varying degrees of training. Besides, most mercs spent their money on booze, weapons, pleasurable company and god knew what else, rather than pouring money back into their equipment. It needed a decent tune-up from a reputable name and a paint job to look its best. I still hadn't a clue about what shape anything mechanical was.


This unit is fully functional! no major damage or repairs to be made. Brand new actuators installed recently is equiped with a ferroalloy slightly denser than what it left the assembaly line with, that'll provide slightly better resistance to ballistic weapons. Truth be told though, you may want to get a diagnostic run on the Myomer fibers.

Is a test drive possible? I want to know what I'm getting myself into.

Of course! Weapons systems are electronically disabled however. As a safety precaution everything I sell is disarmed until transactions are complete. The process takes my team about a day to reverse. I can arrange a test drive immediately.
---------------------------------------------

There was a small barren range behind the hangar where the dirt had been stompped and packed flat and barren. It would suffice, I just needed to see how it moved. My HUD glowed active, signaling that the motion limiters had been disabled and I was free to begin. I was not long, testing from stop the full throttle to stop again. Going from full speed to full reverse to get a feel for situations met in combat. Circling and torso twisting, Jumping and manuvering with Jump Jets. Crouching and standing and just generally getting aquainted with the control scheme in the cockpit. After 20 minutes I was satisfied completely.

---------------------------------------------

Back on the ground outside of the hangar Mr. Cole came out to greet me as I exited the cockpit. His face beamed optimisim, hoping to transfer some to me. I knew that he was just trying to push his sale but couldn't get too involved and then swindled out of my hard earned C-bills.

How was she? Handles like a dream, eh? Most mechs in her class do!

Yes, I did enjoy the handling a lot. I like the heavy class very much. Many interesting oppurtunities and a bit of speed over the Assault classes. Mr. Cole, you've made a sale.

Excellent! Now all that remains is just some finalization paperwork and I can have my people begin preparing it for you immediately.

I punched in the Iron Hammer's business account number and authorized a transfer of funds to Xander Cole, finalizing with a signature on the data pad. Has I completed the information required he spoke.

This mech was most likley prized by its last owners.

As I finished signing the datapad, I asked casually.

And who were the previous owners? It seems a shame to part with such a beautiful battlemech in such good condition.

Well I'm sure the Grey Death Legion won't miss it too much.

I raised an eyebrow at this. I wasn't quite sure I understood his meaning, nor was I certain about how I felt about his tone. Ian caught my clance, sharing my expression.

And why is that? Why would they want to sell this battlemech.

Well, they didn't exactly sell it. Much of my merchandise is supplied by associates of mine.

My other eyebrow rose to meet its brother.

Wait. You just sold me stolen merchandise? How am I going to get off planet with this? No Kuritan trade enforcement will allow me to lift with that kind of thing!

My voice shifted from alarm to anger. No, I was pissed. Xander Cole has just ripped me off. He put an arm around me and his tone shifted to one than an old friend you haven't seen in a while might take. A gentle push with his arm persuaded me to walk with him through the dust.

My friend, you have nothing to worry about! Its all taken care of. You have just signed legal, official paperwork right?

I'm not sure purchasing stolen goods is entirely legal.

My voice sounded very annoyed. I didn't like this game he was playing. Or the acrid cologne he was wearing too much of either.

You worry too much! Listen, heres how my operation runs. I've got a relative or two who has a nice veiw from their government seat if you know what I mean. People owe them favors, and one of them is to turn a blind eye to what I do here. I tried this but couldn't compete with other traders here on Vega, so I had a few "restrictions" removed. Now its possible to move more merchandise and more valuable merchandise than my competetors, legitimate or otherwise.

So you're the biggest black merchant on Vega because you've got the Yakuza helping you get stuff to sell and the planetary trade athourities stop your rivals and allow you to ship offworld.

Listen to you! You make it sound so unsavory! Everything's fine! I know you feel uneasy about this whole thing, here let me make it up to you. I have reservations at a very promenant establishment for dinner. You're welcome to take them. Seriously! I'll make a call and see that everything's taken care of. Its all on me.

My lips were tight, mouth pulled to one side of my face covered with a furrowed brow. I didn't like this at all. The Grey Death Legion was much much larger than Iron Hammer and probably much more ruthless. But Cole seemed to be quite comfortable with it all. It him it was his everyday, quiet , steady and dependable. It was worth it to him to calm me down to pay for a meal out of pocket when his techs worked. I supposed that I could get the mech off planet without any hitches and barring any other inspections in Kuritan space, I'd be the proud owner of a nice Maurader. Still none of this set right.

Mr.Cole-

Please, call me Xander.

Yes... Xander. I appreciate you trying to make me feel more comfortable about all of this-

Oh, no need to thank me about it! I'll have everything ready for you on a cargo truck headed towards the spaceport by the time you're back from dinner! Your reservations are at 7:45!

He extended his hand, his wide smile incorporating every part of his face. Dust blew by lethargically. I reluctantly took his hand and shook it firmly. His cheery voice was making me sick.

There's nothing to be concerned about, I swear it. I'll have everything ready for you. I take good care of all of my clients. You'll see!

I knew there was a reason I never visited Kuritan space.

This post has been edited by Captain Desparado: Nov 29 2006, 05:02 AM


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Position : Captain | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : Libra - 1
Current BattleMech : Sunder Leviathan
Loadout : 4 ER Large Lasers, 1 Clan LBX AC20, 3 ER Medium Lasers, 1 Clan LRM20, LAMS
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Captain Desparado
post Dec 2 2006, 05:50 AM
Post #17



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The bastards had made us. Jason had done the best that he could out manuvering the flanking dropships of the Grey Death Legion's Black Seraphs. They managed to track the purchase from Xander Cole and our units spending to the jumpship we'd hired to transport our dropship the hell away from Vega VII and that much closer away from Kuritan space. Our carrier was a civilian transport and had jettisoned us immediately after the Black Reapers had delivered the ultimatium "Surrender them or all will die." I couldn't fault them for releasing us from their docking collar and thrusting away at maximum burn. God only knew what planet were descending on but we would have to make due on it, I wasn't going to surrender my Maurader back to them. Fajhad, Ian and I all sat anxiously in our mechs, rattling in their berths as the whole ship did. A soft landing was out of the question, we had to beat them down and hide the ship and that meant no reverse thrust until the absolute last minute. We trusted Jason but the larger, faster dropships feilded by the Reapers could overwhelm a single pilot in a Hrothgar Dropship easily. The pit in my stomach was not unjustified, I knew something like this was going to happen. As I cursed the name of Xander Cole, all of my guts dropped to the lowest points of my body that they could reach. Jason had set the landing thrusters to maximum burn. There was a sharp jolt and the hanger bay's small door opened up, we filed out one at a time.

Jason power everything down but our ECM and jamming equipment. We're going to sweep the area and destroy their them before they can strand us here. By the looks of their dropships we'll be up against two lances, maybe some aerofighter support. Join us when you can but stay frosty, you know a lone mech could get scrapped quick.

I copy Shadow Lead, rendevous in about 45 minutes.

Alright Shadow lance, line abrest formation, 400m distance between, go weapons hot, full radar.

I didn't have a clue what miserably little dirtball this was. We set down at the bottow of a cliff that interrupted a vast savannah. Small thin trees were few and far between, they cast a weak shadow in the afternoon sun. Stretched out as far as I could see in all directions grew a hardy thick grass, which was grazed upon by small quadrapedal creatures. These beasts fled at the sight of three massive battlemechs trouncing across their grassland. I hoped Jason caught up with us before we found the Reaper's lances. I didn't like the odds of a Loki, a Maurader and a Shadow Cat in open terrain against two lances of mechs and airsupport. Apprehension hung thick in the air of my cockpit, I had only piloted this mech long enough to test drive it on Vega, I had not yet become totally familiar with all of its little intracacies and any reluctance or hesitation in battle could mean death. I sighed deeply and flicked the toggle, active radar was engaged now and there was nothing in every direction. This could take days to locate the other lance and disable their ships but we had no choice. We could not pause, we could not rest, there was no turning back. If they detected our launch, they'd be on us. We were too slow and out-gunned in flight. This would be a continuous mission, only one of our groups would be left standing.

This post has been edited by Captain Desparado: Dec 12 2006, 05:53 AM


--------------------
Position : Captain | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : Libra - 1
Current BattleMech : Sunder Leviathan
Loadout : 4 ER Large Lasers, 1 Clan LBX AC20, 3 ER Medium Lasers, 1 Clan LRM20, LAMS
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Captain Desparado
post Dec 3 2006, 01:47 AM
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Let me know how I'm doin! Cantina threads of PMs are just fine.

After several hours of scouring the terrain, we had at last ran out of savannah to stomp tracks into. The open grasslands were contained by a thick mountainous ridge we began to venture up. No sign of Jason yet but he could follow our trail, we left three sets of paralell footprints behind in to tall grass. Even still, I was concerned we hadn't heard from him yet. Maybe he was just maintaining radio silence until rejoining us, that would be the safe smart move.

Shadow - 2 scout ahead, use that BAP to see if theres anyone hiding in these rocks. Main tain line of sight with us if possible.

Rodger lead, taking point.

Her Shadow Cat raced forwards and jumpped over a steep outcropping in the mountain's side. She skipped to the top of the ridge several hundren meters ahead of us. Fajhad used his Loki's speed and manuverability to traverse a path upwards, winding through the rocks. My Maurader was much slower than Ian's Shadow Cat but I made my way up more or less in the same fashion as her. She disappeared over the crest of the ridge, using a rock for cover as we caught up. Fajhad and I made it up at about the same time, Ian resumed point and made a long jump to the base of the ridge. My mech had the most range on it so I ordered Fajhad down first, I would watch out rear until he had made it. This side of the ridge was much steeper so he chose his path carefully. It took him several minutes to pick his footing, I patiently surveyed the terrain ahead. We had stepped into a deep basin, it was lush with rich green grass. A thin treeline outlined the water that flowed through the middle of it. This river entered the basin from a waterfall to the west and left through a sudden dropoff to the east. There were birds to be seen rising from the grass and trees while others settled down, landing for food or rest. Ian interrupted the tranquil scene

Captain, I have a read on two Aerofighters at extreme range. It appears they are both heavier craft.

I looked up to see their outlines in the sky, small but getting larger. Thin grey tendrils reached out across the basin and stretched towards us.

They've launched LRMs! Find cover!

Shadow Lance found rocks to weather the storm behind and the fighters drew closer. They appeared on my radar at last and I focused on acheiving a missile lock. After a moment I realized that I still had no lock, the computer was working properly but the default chassis had no missile slots. The LRM launchers in my left torso had been stuffed in but the targeting computer didn't support them. I basically had Long range MRMs. I cursed Xander Cole under my breath once more as four PPCs struck the mountainside, missing all of us. I retaliated with my own PPCs and took to the air as my AC-5s worked to churn rounds down the cannon barrel. One PPC bolt hit an aerofighter and the other sailed wide, it fired back with its Autocannons but had caused no real damage to me. Fajhad popped out just long enough to send a Salvo of LRMs after the other fighter, it banked and tried to outrun the projectiles but they caught up. The aerofighter trailed smoke and shook before it leveled off. I focused on the fighter I had hit for as long as it was in my range. They both turned away and made for the other side of the basin in retreat.

Shadow - 2, light em up before they get away.

She took to a hot pursuit over the fertile grassland and fired her light gauss rifle, its blue trail penetrated the sky and punched through the engines of the fighter I had struck earlier. The doomed ball of fire crashed like a comet into the far side of the basin, falling just short of the far wall. Ian ran on but the other fighter had an advantage in speed, it was safe as soon as it had cleared the wall. The fire from the wreckage of the first had began to spread, feeding on the thick vegetation carpeting the basin. Birds took to the sky in waves as the fire charged towards the center. The sky was blocked out by the fleeing birds and white smoke that rose into the early eveining air. Ian circled back and came to us on the side of the stony wall.

Well I think they can figure out where were at now so we can't go down through here. Besides I'm not going to risk any heat damage from those flames. We'll need to take the long way around now.

As we climbed back up, the smoke rose higher and higher, taking to colors of the setting sun. It was a pillar of every color, growing thicker and thicker as the paradise below us was consumed. We chose to mount the ridge and follow it all the way around to the waterfall at the head of the river. The flames slowed at the river and most of the fire sputtered out, having no more fuel to work with. The treeline shot up in flame and collapsed into the river, extinguishing the chances to reach the other side. The greener side was safe until one of the taller trees fell and managed to catch some of the foliage on the otherside ablaze. The process was slow but the blaze once more reached full strength once it had claimed the treeline on this side of the river. We reached the waterfall just as the last green life had been razed from the valley before us. Night had come upon us and with it, we lost the advantage to see farther than the others. I was not in favor of an outnumbered night fight with a targeting computer that didn't support all of my weapons. I ordered us to stop for the night, crouching the the deep river with passive sensors. I asked Fajhad to remain hot because of his sensory equipment but stay descreet. I brought my mech to a squat, as did he but Ian was already up to her canopy in water just standing. We slept in shifts, I took the first shift. I figured that it would take time for the Black Seraphs to reach this point and I wanted Fajhad's ECM suites to be on watch when that happened.

Still no sign of Jason.


This post has been edited by Captain Desparado: Dec 12 2006, 05:54 AM


--------------------
Position : Captain | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : Libra - 1
Current BattleMech : Sunder Leviathan
Loadout : 4 ER Large Lasers, 1 Clan LBX AC20, 3 ER Medium Lasers, 1 Clan LRM20, LAMS
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Captain Desparado
post Dec 19 2006, 05:44 AM
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I was hammered out of a wary slumber but a loud thump. I was in total shutdown in a dark cockpit, water outside came halfway up the glass. I looked out the window trying to determine what had happened. Fajhad was visable, a light in his cockpit showed him frantically signalling me with his hands. He was trying to maintain radio silence. He brought his hands up and held out his hand with his fingers spread on one hand and two more raised on the other. The number seven.

Seven Mechs?

I repeated the gesture to him and he nodded. He pointed with his hand into the darkness. I nodded again and raised my hand up, flattening it out at eye level and then slowly lowering it to my chest.

Get Down.

Fajhad nodded and clicked his light off, wading away from me in the river and crouching. Against the faint outline of the dawn, still hours distant, a group of bipedal figures moved. I hit the switches and toggles necessesary for a slow startup. I could wait in passive and hopefully get a jump on a mech or two before they organized themselves in response to the sudden losses. It was quite possible that before they had a clue that Fajhad and I could acheive two kills and cripple a third before they had a clue what was happening. not perfect but it would have to do. I flashed my acknowledgement lights at Ian and she responded, mirroring my pattern in confirmation.

One of the dark figures gre nearer as I powered-up in passive. A Firemoth, easily overwhelmed. Hopefully it was a command mech, downing it would cause pandemonium. My hands gripped the joysticks and I prepaired to destroy one of its legs with a pair of PPCs. I needed it closer, if I could leg it, Fajhad could make short work of it. Just a few hundred meters more. My fingers twitched, tightening on the trigger but halted just short of the pressure needed. Did I just hear a Gauss Rifle Discharge? A blue helix spiraled over the water's surface and blasted through the Kitfox's cockpit. I activated my Light Amplification just in time to witness the speedy clan scout run a few dozen meters farther and then collapse, skidding on the ground with momentum. Ian had mistaken my signal for a firing order! She took the shot too early!

Suddenly the computer alerted me that I had several missile locks targeting me. A lauch confirmation followed all of the previous warnings and the sky was alight with glowing ribbions that raced away from the earth. Their light faded the further down on the trail, culminating in a bright glowing ball at the head of these pillars. The thin lines of smoke arched to a parabola, I was at the end of the equation. The exhaust flames of over two and a half dozen LRMs streaked to me. My feet slammed both pedals and my Jumpjets gave me the fastest lift it was possible to deliver. As I rose, red and green beams, as well as a few PPCs probed the night, hoping to touch me. I looked across the plain from above to see many mechs scattered amid the myriad of boulders.

The rockets screamed at me and my jets gave out. I plumetted like a rock as the guidance systems in the LRMs over compensated and rushed down after me. The water landing was rough but most of the LRMs traveled short of me and dotted the riverbed. My armor absorbed the abuse of the lucky ones easily.


Alright, so much for the element of suprise. Split up and take it to them! Engage at will Shadow Lance!


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Position : Captain | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : Libra - 1
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Loadout : 4 ER Large Lasers, 1 Clan LBX AC20, 3 ER Medium Lasers, 1 Clan LRM20, LAMS
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Captain Desparado
post Dec 19 2006, 05:58 PM
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Where the Kitfox fell, an Uller raced to replace it. My firepower went to it, hoping to exterminate its sizable payload and speed before it became a huge problem. My PPCs were dead on, as usual but the AC rounds fell shy of their intended target. I had failed to lead far enough to compensate for the distance and instead its left side took the punishment. Again my alarms blared and indicated a launch was on its way. It never came, my AMS filterd the incoming missiles and only allowed its wreckage through, clattering harmlessly off of my armor. I unleashed all I had and brought the Uller down quickly with an alpha strike and turned to my next target. The missile mechs. A Hellbringer darted from inbetween boulders taking potshots at Fajhad but directly infront of me stood a Vulture. It stood its ground against me, Large Pulse Lasers flashing and charged. I left the cooling river that would split the workload with my heatsinks and began my assault on the pair. The deadlier of the two was the heavier so I started there, someone took the comm seconds befoer I fired my opening shots against the Vulture.

Commander Iscariot, you are ordered to stand down now. Shut down your mech and we will allow you to leave here without further incident.

They knew my name, tracking my spending would give them that knowledge. The loss of a battlemech and having to pay another jumpship, whenever the next one was in system could be a crippling price for such a small unit as us. Besides I was pissed that they had followed us all the way to... whatever plaent this was and put us in this situation.

Who the hell is this?

This is Major Zane Tomlinson of the Black Seraphs. And you, you will surrender my battlemech now.

Well, Zane, lemme tell you. I like the view from in here, this chair is pretty cozy but theres been this lingering stench I haven't been able to get rid of. Probably the previous owner or something. But I really really like this mech. Can't we reach some sort of an agreement?

Final warning Iscariot. Shut down now or you'll end up like the other member of your lance.

Jason? Did he mean Jason? We haven't heard from him, had they found him first? My knuckles were white, holding the joysticks tightly. My fingers floated back over the triggers.

We sent three mechs after him, damn fine pilots if I do say so myself. I wouldn't count on seeing your boy again, but you have the option of surrender. He did not, we never gave it to him. Do the reasonable thing and take the loss, we'll even escort you back to your ship personally. Don't be foolish.

This bastard was going to suffer. With my weapons fully cycled and heat fully disapated, I threw all I had at him. The chaos in the boulder feild resumed and everyone continued firing again. The Vulter was caught quite off gaurd and launched a dumbfire salvo of LRMs, half of which missed. I took to the air, hoping to smash him quickly for a DFA kill but the Hellspawn targeted me and I descended to evade attack. My autocannons chewed hungrily at the Vulture's armor with medium laser support. I fired my defective LRMs, being only dumbfire and had about equal success as Zane had had. I cracked his right torso wide open with another pair of PPCs and support weapons started the ammunition explosion that consumed the right arm as well. He fled behind a large boulder and I did my best to follow but the Hellspawn once more interfered.

It stood blocking my path with pulse lasers bristling. It began to retreat, backpedaling around a rock but I raised up. Again I was taking for from another mech or two but my focus was on the Hellspawn. PPCs hit hard and fast, and the medium mech limpped from around the boulder, firing more LRMs. Fajhad charged past me and put it down quickly, once and for all eleminating the pesky battlemech. I turned to pursue the Vulture, following the direction I last saw it take and almost bumpped directly into a Turkina.


--------------------
Position : Captain | LEGIONNAIRES
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Captain Desparado
post Dec 22 2006, 05:56 AM
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I threw the throttle into full reverse and stompped both of my jump pedals, I needed to be out of those wide spread arm's reach and fast. A valiant effort but it wasn't fast enough. I had lift but took two gauss rounds in the legs, if I was grounded it probably would've knocked me down. I pulsed my jets and glided forwards, firing down on the head of my Goliath like attacker. LRMs flew under my mech and circled around, half of them splashed angrily on my rear torso's armor and the rest flew past me, spinning out and bursting in a spectacular display. I drifted forwards as my thrust gave out but it was just enough to help me land running. My massive metallic hoof crashed down on the top of the Turkina. Almost doubling the weight that the Myomer fibers, actuators and Endosteel internal structure were ever meant to handle forced the Clan Omnimech into the dirt. It was just the amount of thin I needed to try to declaw my opponet. An alpha strike and a little more effort blasted the right arm away, the magnetic feild of the gauss rifle sent debris several hundred meters away. Eventually the massive battlemech found its footing again, it took aim and I prepaired myself for the worst. The worst was much worse than I had expexcted, distracted with battle, I had allowed a Ryoken to sneak up on me. My AMS attempted to screen the tidal wave of LRMs comming in but it couldn't handle the dozens of rockets. The blasts rocked me in waves, alarms blared in the cockpit and a coolant hose vented a plume of steam, adding even more chaos to the situation. One thing my AMs could not screen was the magnetically propelled slug hurdling towards me at several hundren kilometers per hour. The hit at the end of the waves of rocking put me on the ground and there I lay prone.

I twisted and fought for control but I was in no position to defend myself, I was helpless. The horizon was vertical, the ground stretched up and down as far as I could see according to my orentation. Were it not for the fourpoint harness, I would've tumbled around the cockpit like a ragdoll during the fall. It had saved me then but strapped sideways to my command seat, thrashing for control, it could do me no good. The Turkina stood still and took aim, gloating over the thought of one more stamp on its hull. The Ryoken too looked to be putting a good deal of effort into the next shot. Suddenly the Turkina jerked up and Ian soared over me, landing a Kung Fu kick to the Turkina's cockpit, crumpling it to the ground. The Ryoken took off in hot pursuit after her, weaving in and out of boulders. When I struggled once more to my feet, I caught glimpses of Fajhad dancing with a Mad Cat. He was out classed but had every electronic advantage available and a few that weren't. He could handle himself. Ian was always outclassed, she would manage, espescially since the Ryoken is much more effective at range. That left one final radar signature, I made my way to it. The HUD showed me the estimated appearance of what it read as a Cauldron Born. Lethal here at arm's reach. My bloodied nose going into this fight didn't help much either.

I caught a glimpse of a short mech between the boulders and fired, the PPCs narrowly cleared the small gaps but they hit. The squatty mech would take a beating that many heavy mechs couldn't, it marched towards me, indifferent of my actions. I did my best to distance myself, making a large circle around the other pilot. He would have none of that, skirting around the rocks I tried to put between us and making a beeline for me. Quickly I was left with no other option but retreat, jumping backwards over rocks and taking shots in the small windows they were offered to me. It would not be long but he would catch me but I couldn't afford his beating. My best bet for victory would be if a lancemate broke off and lent a hand. I tapped the comm to broadcast a call for assistance but Fajahd beat me to it.


Shadow lead or Shadow Two, I can't hold this guy off.

There was an electrical crackle and a small explosion followed by feirce loud hissing from Fajhad's comm channel. He screamed over the racket desperately.

GET THIS BASTARD OFFA ME!

Ian Responded, sounding cool and collected. She was in a state of deep focus.

Copy Shadow Three, I am on my-

A series of explosions silenced her radio transmission. I toggled her on my HUD, she was severely damaged, what ever had just happened, it was clear that she could no longer pledge her support. We all needed help but couldn't afford to stop and give it to our doomed comrades. No one would survive alone, but at least one of us would die if we came to the aid of another.

It figures that my ego would get me killed. Fuckin beautiful.

As the Cauldron closed the gap that kept me safely behind cover I saw my radar. Zane was at extreme range, retreating but still using his other LRM launcher to good effect. Another signature was approaching as well. Ian was closest to them. The incoming dot was the second Aerofighter, his brother went down hours ago and it came down with a vengenge to seek. If I didn't move, Ian was dead, and after that, Fajad and I as well. My PPCs cycled again and I struck near the cockpit of the Cauldron Born, hopefully he got just enough feedback to keep him blinded long enough for me to help Ian. I tried to break away, pushing right past my opponet but my plan had not worked, his sensor equipment had not overloaded and instead he was totally unimpaired when two blasts from his LBX autocannons ran every edge on my battlemech ragged. I made my best speed past anyways, taking high to the air. The last of my LRMs missed the Ryoken entirely but he took his reticle off of Ian for a short moment in recognition. The Aerofighter thundered autocannons and unleashed furious lightening PPCs. The PPCs missed Ian, his priority target but many autocannon rounds connected. While in the air, another alarm warbled at me but I was deaf to it. I flushed coolant to prevent shutdown and fired my PPCs. The twin bolts were the period on the sentence of the aerojock's life, abruptly ended. The final stream of contrails that traced their way back to Zane's vulture before it passed out of range in retreat found their way to me. My armor was paperthin by now. I came down, slipping atop a boulder and doing my best to run from the Cauldron Born. Suddenly Major Zane's mech made a sharp angled turn back into sensor range and then passed out of it shortly after on a tangent. I had no time to ponder this, a new signature appeared at extreme range. It was Jason's Mauler at full run.

Shadow Four, status report.

I set out after you to rendevous but was intercepted. I hid, and let them chase me until I got one alone. The other two I lured to the Svetlana. No mech lasts long against four Naval PPCs and four Naval Gauss.

My malefactor was relentless, he was hot on my heels. An extra man was what we needed at the moment, I could buy us some time.

Get that heavy off of Fajhad, be quick about it. I'm not sure any of us will hold for long.

I caught a lucky break. A line of rock too steep for a mech to climb. I jumpped again, leaving the Cauldron Born behind. It would be several moments before he navigated around the natural obstical. That was all I hoped that I needed. The Ryoken came into veiw, my Autocannons ran dry shortly after that. Ian's final gauss slug penetrated the torso armor with a direct hit and my PPCs followed. We circled our prey with energy weapons until an equally impressive amount of energy lept forth from inside it. I could hear Jason's autocannons as a booming thunder that echoed off of the rocks. Ian flicked to passive sensors and ran in a wide arc. With her transmitter down, it was anyone's guess as to what she was doing. When I peiced it together after looking at my radar, I went pale. She was going to bait herself so that I could get the upper hand with the Cauldron Born.

If her communications equipment were working right, I would be telling her to stand down and retreat. If I could just make her hear my voice, I'd tell her to stay clear and wait for Jason and Fajhad. But I couldn't. If I didn't back her up, she would get cornered and die. I crashed through the feild of rock, the sides of my mech scraping past. I moved to support at maximum speed but she was so much quicker, Ian was already taunting and dancing away. Her attacker was determined to get at her, cutting through her loops and trying to head her off if she wanted to run rings around him. He was closing the distance quickly, making me sweat in thick torrents.


We're all done here, moving to assist.

Hang back lead, let me take him.

Negative, just get here. Bring this guy down.

Ian raced behind a pile of boulders and turned sharply, darting back the way she came. The slow torso twist speed of the little mech with bulldog's tenacity couldn't keep up and she was behind him, sheilded by more boulders. I approached, all weapons blazing but he took no notice of me. Time seemed to slow to an excruciating pace. It seemed like minutes between each heartbeat that made my head and neck throb with heat. Ian dashed from the other side of her rock pile and to the next, reversing her direction before circling again, reversing once more when she did. She maintained this pattern and the Cauldron Born began beck pedaling away from those rocks, anticipating her move. I dashed on, giving it all I had, mashing automatic shut down override, venting coolant and pumping the trigger, but it all seemed so very slow. The way you'd image a hummingbird sees the world. The Cauldron Born twisted ahead of where Ian was going to be, a distance between the shelter of one rock and the next and there was nothing I could do. Ian darted past his reticle but he was ready for her when she came back the same way, just as he had predicted. The only thing that kept her from dying when he pulled the trigger was my mech slowly eclipsing hers. The muzzles of his cannons flashed, the shot came at me swiftly yet I could see each individual bowling ball sized peice. They gre larger and larger until a few pressed against my canopy glass. It cracked and the cracks spiderwebbed until the glass bent inwards. Splinters launched at me, large shards fell to the floor and the shot kept comming. The roar was maddening but for what seemed like hours, I endured the echoing boom that followed projectile screaming towards me. The crystal hard sound of ferroglass shattering was the last thing I ever heard, the dull grey depleted uranium was the last thing I saw.


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Position : Captain | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : Libra - 1
Current BattleMech : Sunder Leviathan
Loadout : 4 ER Large Lasers, 1 Clan LBX AC20, 3 ER Medium Lasers, 1 Clan LRM20, LAMS
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Ian Rielley
post Dec 23 2006, 06:22 AM
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My ammo was totally spent. Nothing but lasers to fall back on and my Shadow Cat was in no condition to even properly support an attack on the Cauldron Born. I had made my choice as best as I saw it fit. With no communications capabilities, I knew that I would be alone while Desparado delt with the other threats I had slipped away from. Alone, save for the Cauldron Born and the adrenaline that kept me going this far. I was only a matter of time before help came to me. My lancemates were sometimes brutish in their fighting styles and my hope was that eventually they would run out of things to destroy and come to my rescue. That was why I flew from rock to rock, darting this way and that for cover, hiding from the terrible potential of my assailant.

I had ample speed and agility, luckily nothing involving my mobility was damaged yet. The torso twist rate of the clan mech was totally inadequate to acheive a successful target. I manuvered this way and that, playing the cat-and-mouse game by ear and settled into a pattern as time drew on. Completing a circle around him, reversing when I belived he had lead himself enough to strike and repeating the other direction. Out of the side window of my cockpit, Desparado's Maurader raced to my aid, using all the firepower he could muster but it would not shake the Cauldron Born's focus on me. He was deadset on seeing that my mech be destroyed. As long as I continued to make full use of my superior speed, I was alive. Still, closer and closer he got to me, soon my evasion tactics would be ineffective and I would be forced to find another solution. Nothing came immediately to mind, I bit my lower lip and reversed my circle with a furrowed brow and a nervous eye on the radar. The Cauldron Born charged in the opposite direction of where I had been seconds ago and towards a location dangerously close to where I was about to be. I could beat him around the rock that would sheild me, but I had no plan of making it back out from behind it.

My swift feet carried me to safety and I prepaired to reverse my circle once more, hoping that his aim would be lead but somehow knowing that it probably wouldn't. I slammed the throttle full on and made for a nearby boulder when I saw Desparado fall. There was no way I could've made it had his mech not taken all of the damage delt by the beligerant combatant. I turned sharply, prepairing to cut right through the middle of my circle and flee into the rocks, hoping to loose him but my hands went limp. Desparado's mech went slumpped over, lifeless. The sound of the autocannons still rang in my ears, it was a direct hit to his cockpit. My vision grew hazy and blurred with hot tears that rolled from my eyes. My momentum carried me to safety behind a string of rocks, I had passed from the same fate as him. Jason and Fajhad were the only remaining signatures on my radar, save for my pursurer. They all three converged and soon there were two. I was thankful my comm transmitter was damaged because no one heard my wailing agony except for me. I managed to bring myself to a halt before breaking down into a sobbing bundle of frayed nerves.


This post has been edited by Ian Rielley: Dec 23 2006, 06:23 AM


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Current BattleMech : Dragon Aži Raoioita
Loadout : Heavy Gauss Rifle, Clan Ultra AC5, 2 erMedium Laser, ECM
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Captain Desparado
post Aug 18 2007, 06:39 AM
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Read on to the next chapter of The Path of a MechWarrior, Shadows and Dust


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Position : Captain | LEGIONNAIRES
Callsign : Libra - 1
Current BattleMech : Sunder Leviathan
Loadout : 4 ER Large Lasers, 1 Clan LBX AC20, 3 ER Medium Lasers, 1 Clan LRM20, LAMS
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