CHAPTER 1

Avalon City, New Avalon

Crucis March, Federated Suns

12 July 3067

His eyes scanned the crowd as people milled about almost aimlessly it seemed. Handshakes and hugs were offered and accepted throughout the reception area. Most of these people were either rich or royalty. All that is except for one person. Galen Tryste knew that no one in this ebbing and flowing throng of people were here for him. His entire family had been killed in a raid when he was just sixteen. "I had my family around for longer than some people have," Galen mused to himself. Not much more than a standard day after the raid that killed his parents, Galen had managed to track the bandits down outside of town. After managing to hijack a Phoenix Hawk, Galen proceeded to transform the immense grief he had been feeling into an absolutely harrowing flash of rage. Surprise on his side, along with the sheer luck of having hijacked the largest mech in the bandit's force, led to a quick and destructive battle. The militia found the battle site during a sweep of the area while hunting the offending bandits. They found Galen unconscious in the cockpit of the Phoenix Hawk which was sprawled out with the legs badly damaged. Next to it lay the crushed torso of a Commando mech.

Galen had spent the next week trying to explain to the authorities that he was not in fact part of the bandit group that attacked, but a survivor and ultimately executioner. The lance commander who showed up had put two and two together and figured out that the sixteen year old kid had managed to pull off a death from above attack on the commando after having the large laser of the Phoenix Hawk destroyed. The media got a hold of the story and Galen had been the media's darling for a while. Archon Prince Victor Steiner-Davion had gotten wind of the story also and awarded Galen a spot in NAIS' College of Military Science.

Five years had passed and today Galen was graduating in the top one percent of his class. Galen allowed himself a subdued smile as he thought of how proud his parents would have been had they lived to see this. The smile evaporated quickly as he reminded himself that if his parents were alive, he would be graduating training from the militia on his home world instead of here in New Avalon.

Galen was brought out of his reverie when he felt a hand lightly touch his shoulder. He turned around to find himself looking at one of the few friend he had made during his stay at CMS. Sergeant-major Samuel Addison had a huge smile on his face as he shook Galen's hand.

"Galen, these are my parents Frederick and Marites Addison", Samuel said as his friend shook both of their hands.

"I finally get to meet you after all this time", Galen replied with a sincere smile. Samuel was always talking about his family and how normal they were despite being very rich. "Samuel is always going on about your desserts", he directed to Marites.

"Yes, I always have to make extra to make sure there is enough for everyone else", Samuel's mother replied with a huge smile.

"Well I hope you manage to keep him out of too much trouble seeing as how he can't tie his shoes without falling down", Frederick joked.

"I'm sure it will be the other way around sir, Samuel does have one of the cooler heads in our graduating class", countered Galen in an attempt to not let his friend's parents embarrass their son.

With a polite smile and a lame excuse Galen excused himself from the gathering and made his way out of the reception hall. He made his way slowly back to his dorm. Along the way Galen thought about his friend and the easy way he got along with his family. Galen missed that for himself. He recalled arguing with his brother over who was a better pilot, Kai Allard-Liao or Khan Phelan Ward. They had heard about many of the exploits of both and Galen was quite sure that Kai Allard-Liao was the better pilot. He was a former Champion of Solaris, which was no easy feat for any person. Of course Shane believed Khan Phelan Ward was the better pilot because the clans were deadly enemies and killed many of the Inner Sphere's better pilots. The cool night air felt good and Galen enjoyed it as much as he could. He would be cooped up in a dropship for a while to get to his new home.

Galen did some light research on his soon to be home. Nopah was an interesting planet but Galen was a bit disappointed that it was not on any war front that he was aware of. The only thing that managed to assuage his feelings was the fact that it was one jump away from the Liao borders. Galen wondered if there was any coincidence that the bandits who attacked his town and killed his parents were Liao bandits. He was sure that little bit of information had more than a little to do with his posting. It was fine with Galen. It was much better prospect than some of the fighting he'd had to participate in during the civil war.

Lancaster, Orkney

Jade Falcon Occupation Zone

Star Captain Illyana growled to herself and she read her daily reports. She so wanted the Falcons to resume attacks on the freebirth Inner Sphere. Renewed Fighting would mean glorious deaths in combat and those deaths could create the opening she needed to get back on a front line cluster. Stuck in the Gamma Galaxies Jade Solahma felt like the worst fate she could have suffered. "I am nothing more than a bandit hunter turned security guard," the clanswoman announced to no one.

"You long for a renewed invasion, quiaff?" came the voice of Illyana's second in command, Star Commander Ethan.

"Aff", I was not bred to be an aging watchdog," Illyana replied. "there is a new war brewing out there, I Can almost touch it. It will be our chance for glory once again".

"The impostors who claim to be the Star League reborn will not last", Star Commander Ethan stated as a matter of fact. "When they tear themselves apart The Falcons will be ready to lead the clans back to Terra. Of this I have no doubt'.

The Two trinaries under the command of Star Captain Illyana were mostly made up of old refits and second line mechs. She piloted one of the few omni mechs in the Jade Solahma. With The Jade Falcons gearing up for renewed incursions on the Inner Sphere, many planets in the Jade Falcon Occupation Zone had very little in the way of garrison forces. Orkney had very little to offer except as a staging point. The lone battlemech factory on the planet was relegated to creating new designs and producing workable prototypes for evaluation by the techs at larger factories.

After speaking to Star commander Ethan, Star Captain Illyana felt an odd chill. She knew in her heart that something huge was about to happen. Whatever it was, it would not involve Orkney. That much, the aging mechwarrior was sure of. "If it does involve this pitiful planet, we will be woefully unable to prevent it," Tamara thought to her self before retiring for the evening.

Hamford, Nopah

Capellan March, Federated Suns

Major Steven "Red" Norris sat sweating in the command couch of his simulator. Heat Lance of Heat Company 2nd Battalion 52nd Avalon Hussars had just decimated the other two lances of Heat Company. The tall commander was nicknamed for the crop of flame red hair sitting atop his head. Major Norris shook his head as he replayed the recently concluded simulation in his head. There were bright spots from all of his pilots during the exercise. The problem was that those bright spots were accompanied by glaring mistakes.

Heat Battalion was slated for a quick raid into the Jade Falcon Oz in four months. Something about extracting some people that the Federated Suns had on some small planet near the Lyran Alliance border. Everything about the mission was very hush hush. So hushed in fact, that he wasn't allowed to tell his people what they were prepping for. When Major Norris added to his woes the fact that several new pilots were not on Nopah for the exercises, things looked pretty grim. The new pilots would arrive in system in time for a month of training before shipping out for their extraction mission.

"Good job Timmy," Major Norris acknowledged as Timothy Miller from Pellet lance walked by.

"Thanks Major," came the response accompanied by a toothy grin.

Everyone from Heat Company were headed to the war room for mission debrief. Timmy was one of those bright spots. Piloting his Penetrator, Timmy managed to take down Ramses Ulysses in his Battlemaster and help the rest of Pellet Lance combined with Orb Lance take out Simon Two-Feathers' Executioner. Major Norris' own King Crab and Leftenant Misty Sorenson's Daishi had come out of the engagement relatively unscathed after destroying the remnants of the other two lances.

In an effort to shore up the 52nd's overall skill level Major Norris had to make a sacrifice. That sacrifice came in the form of promotions for some of the best pilots in his company to command lances in the rest of the regiment. To replace those pilots, the 52nd had taken on some pilots who were either dispossessed or journeymen warriors who were just looking for something resembling a steady paycheck. Either way, Major Norris was not enthusiastic about his upcoming mission.

Leftenant Carmella Soluna sat in Heat Company's war room. Her recon lance had was finally starting to shape up and this last exercise proved. Carmella was an average pilot with above average looks and it was the latter that had gotten her a lance command. When she had first taken command of Orb Lance there had been some resistance by two of the original lance members. Sergeant Misty Donaldson had requested and received a transfer after their first meeting. Sergeant Major Carrie Ann Masuda had been visibly disappointed at being passed up for the command. Carrie Ann had been the logical choice, having been in 2nd Battalion for the past five years. The infatuation of a Capellan March Marshal proved to be more valuable when it came down to it.

Carmella was still missing her fourth. The gap left by Sergeant Donaldson's transfer had not been filled since it opened four months ago. During simulator exercises her lance was given a Phoenix Hawk as the last member of her lance, controlled by the artificial intelligence of the simulator itself. A forty-five ton mech had no place in a recon lance, she thought.

Carmella's thoughts were interrupted by Major Norris as he walked into the war room. "If our opforce is composed of ten year olds, I'd give us a fair shot at winning an up and up battle. As it stands, aside from a few bright performances and lucky shots our overall readiness is terrible."

Captain William Lau had been sitting quietly in one corner of the room until this point. "Sir, Pellet Lance has been performing well in the last few exercises. Especially when it's taken into consideration that just about every sim has us being ambushed before recon can identify hostiles."

"You have a valid point there Captain," then to Leftenant Soluna, "how is that Hawk working out with your lance Carmella?"

"Sir, it's a bit large and slow for a recon lance isn't it?"

"It might be but the techs also programmed it's pilot as a worst case scenario." Worst case being an utter idiot for a pilot, Major Norris ended his response silently.

"When am I getting a warm body in my lance, if I may ask sir?"

Major Norris chuckled at the frustration in the voice of Orb Lance's commander. "Funny you should ask that Carmella, your new pilot should be here before the fifteenth of September." Major Norris accompanied his response with the toss of a folder he had been holding since entering the room.

Carmella opened the file and took a peek. "Aww for the love of Blake, is that why you've been sticking me with a Phoenix Hawk all this time?"

"Well," Norris began his counter. "I did say the sim pilot was worst case, but after reading the new kid's dossier I think he may work out better than we initially thought."

"hrmph, he just better live up to the expectations of whomever wrote this dossier," Carmella fumed.