Disclaimer: Tenchi Muyo is a trademark of Pioneer and AIC. The same count for the characters from Tenchi Muyo.
Battletech and Mechwarrior are Trademarks of Whizkids. The same count for the ´Mech- and Shiptypes and names.
The Mechpilot´s are taken from a GURPS/Mechwarrior Crossover RPG-Session we were running and belong to us ;)).
Tenchi FanFic „No need for Mercenaries"
Crossover Tenchi – Battletech/Mechwarrior
Warning: May contain some violence and coarse phrases, might not be suitable for children.
AN:
Edited on Oct, 16th 2014
Removing an extremely annoying typo in this chapter, thx to Eisenstein for pointing out. And yes, I decided that the Enterprise series is known in this 'veres, so the reference remains. ;)
The mentioned fly-zapper is a reference to the manga.
Also changed the type of the later used Tank, kudos here to cko2 for alerting me upon my error.
Introduction/Chapter OneAboard Comstar Union-Class Dropship "Trident"30. March 3058, 18:00 Terran Standard Time
Deep Periphery, Starsystem DXV-37Z.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, please be seated", Captain McIntyre said as he entered the briefingroom. After a pause, in which he sorted his plans and memos, he looked up again to the five people who were awaiting his speech. "As you all know, we have provided some scouting for a major counterattack of the Innersphere, respectively the new founded Star League against the clans. This action is coded as ´Operation Serpent´ and plans not more than to find a way to the homeworlds of the clans and fight them there. "
Nothing new so far, I thought and spared a glance to the other four members of our "special lance".
The "Swordfish", the second Union-Class Drop ship1 of our Taskforce from the Star League Defense Forces carried a full veteran mercenary company of 12 Battlemechs and two aerospace fighters, while our "Trident" was housing some support units, like tanks, additional two heavy aerospace fighters and two infantry companies, mostly anti-tank soldiers with heavy weapons. That 'Support' also included our oversized lance, pretending to be some kind of mercenaries our self. Our unit, which consisted of five ´mechs, was a special asset.
Not only that we fielded 4 clan Omnimechs (2 Timberwolves2, a Man O' War3and my Nemesis4, some prized 'mechs we gained quite a while ago in a most successful raid against the clans), we also had some remarkable pilots in our ranks.
William Riker (an odd name for a Kurita5, but he was from Rasalhage and his family had some strange ideas) was a covert action special operative from the Draconis DEST6 and a wizard with explosives in all variations. Also he was able and willing to ´persuade´ the strongest captives to share their knowledge with us. Legendary were his plainfaced, reasonable sounding offers to perform an instant appendectomy with the shaft of his fold-up spade on the intended ´victim´ in the sometimes-usual bad cop/good cop game. Furthermore he was one of the few DEST´s who were trained to fight in a ´mech, so he had no problems to pretend being only a mechwarrior. Only his deadly close combat abilities may have betrayed his claiming, but only to those who know where and how to look. Also he was a master of disguise and camouflage and could have worked as a stage actor for sure.
Thomas Mc´Garry was a skilled mechwarrior from the arenaworld Solaris VII, where he had fought quite successfully (gaining the 6th place in the ranking list for a while), before he had to "leave" after a brief disagreement with his stableowner. His `mech was a now highly modified Hatchetman7, which incorporated the triplestrength myomersystem8 and a mace as melee weapon, which was able to deliver an incredible amount of damage in combination with the myomersystem. This supports his favorite combat style to close in after the enemy got some battle damage and fight it out, even in the light that he got the lightest 'mech in our unit. The remaining weapons were also replaced by a clan mixture, so that his ´mech was deadlier than ever. Also Thomas was adapted to enough close combat styles to make most of the mudstompers go green with envy. I think he might be only surpassed by William and me. His mixture of skills and command abilities earned him the leadership of our command. Even being our designated chief, he knew enough to stand aside when it came to a field where William's or my specialty laid. Maybe someday he will even forgive me for playing a kind of Kobayashi Maru test on him once by manipulating the simulators, leaving me at the better end of the fight.
The origins of the slender, fragile looking Virginia O´Connor remained a mystery (even though I got a few interesting glimpses), but she showed herself as an even better mechjockey than Thomas. Personally I thought that most of her sometimes-bullying personality was to compensate her small size. Unfriendly questions how she managed to climb in that awfully big `mech were instantly muffled by the two heavy Sternsnacht-pistols she was wearing all the time. Her skills within her ´mechs were more than enough to nullify her other ´shortcomings`, however grave they might be. Meanwhile it didn't roll up my toenails anymore to hear her stating, "I'm a mechwarrior and not a damned mechanic", after an extensive fight, when it came to do some field repairs. Her ´mech combat abilities nevertheless were on a level, which I could not hope to reach within the next two or three decades.
Alicia Mc´Fury was an entirely different matter. According to her official personal file she was a Davion Mechjockey from the Terran corridor, with a magic touch for old Star League9 inheritances. But my own instincts didn't swallow that. Alicia was for my taste way to alert. She seemed to have her eyes everywhere sometimes and was unusually well equipped. Also a veteran in a 'mechs she was technical adapted enough to keep her machine going, even under rough circumstances. On the other hand my secret connections informed that she spied out my first secret ID and was about to scratch on it. I hoped so far that she wouldn't succeed in going deeper, because if she did I had to take steps against that. Which I would regret in a professional way, because I sensed a related soul in her. Interestingly my own investigations about her heritage were stopped by a kind request from Comstar to hold it. An absolute hobby of her was to get every possibility for a swim. Whenever she got an opportunity she completely soaked herself in a lake or river for she was an excellent swimmer. Sometimes I personally mused about she might got webs between her fingers and toes.
Which leaves my person at the last. My personal file profiled me as another Kurita mechpilot, with a superior computer education and a technician grade. My first buried fake ID stated me as an official DEST operative (amusingly the ID was granted by the DEST, which left the question if it is a fake now anymore), but the truth was that I was included, unknown to the others, on a personal request and suggestion of the coordinator Theodore Kurita10 himself. In the light that the Draconis Combine provides the most ressources for the Comstar Explorercorps (excluding ships) who was running this campaign, there was no surprise that I was allowed to join. While quite professional in a ´mech, my playgrounds were computers and other electric and electronic devices plus some more, profound skills. These skills played us a high benefit in the past (not only in the mentioned raid) and I was confident to keep it this way.
"Our current mission," Colin McIntyre resumed his speech, "however, is a little more specific, not only because we have been reshaped into a SLDF11 Unit. We are a little off the presumed ´Exodus Road´ and are ordered to do some deep reconnaissance. An earlier Comstar probing in this binary star system gave signs of a small, possibly hostile, base on this little dirtball, called ´TZ-908´, we are approaching. ´TZ-908´ is a planet only a little smaller than the Terran standard, which gives him a gravity of about 0.92 G. Also it is rich of minerals, has large, heavy woodlands and the resulting climate. So far we have no further valuable information of what they scanned, so it might even be a clan outpost instead a pirate base. Even if it proves to be no threat, this possibility of a compromising for ´Operation Serpent´ can't be ignored. The OP12 requires launching both our Dropships. The "Swordfish" is about to go in first and will land about 20 klicks southeast of the supposed area of the base. Our landing zone is going to be a little more off the base, in order to trap units who might be out in the field. Nevertheless, you know the first law in warfare is Murphy's, so be prepared to change your mission's objectives. Any questions so far?"
After raising his hand, Thomas asked, "How large are the expected enemy forces?"
Our mission officer answered. "We presume, on the extension of the base, the equivalent of a garrison class nova or an understrenghed company plus possible a Union-class Dropship. There might be some miscalculating, but not much, so we will have the superiority in ´mechs plus the two fighter lances we keep in reserve for air strikes."
He smiled. "You are not expected to take out the entire base alone again", which earned him some omnious, innocent-looking glances.
"Well", I replied, "it's not our fault, if the others are unable to keep up with our pace and ...aah... determination, is it?"
McIntyre reacted with an amused snort. "You might put it this way if you like, but remember, it's curiosity that kills the cat," he said.
After a brief smile of my own I countered, "I thought it's the early bird, which gets the worm?"
"Whatsoever", McIntyre cut the matter. "It might interest you that our techs were able to incorporate some of the targeting computers, which we sacked from the last clan base into your `mechs. That should give an extra edge against your enemies. You are losing some of your offensive capabilities, but the greater accuracy of the rest is more than enough to even that out, plus the major modifications we did in Base-One's ´mech lab before we left. Furthermore, your Omni's have been configured for this mission exclusively with energy-based weapons and additional double heat sinks, which will keep you longer in the field without the need to resupply. Also Senior Mastertech Pfeiffer was able to fix the problem with your damaged Beagle probe13, Lieutenant Riker. So you will be predestined to sniff out any possible hidden enemy units. Also you should remember that the mineral richness of the planet leaves your MAD14 nearly useless. The expected range will be about only 400 meters.
Also your sight will be limited by these heavy woods, if our opponent wants to try to hide, which I would bet for. As you can see, the woods are really large. Not as enormous as the Amazonian, but it seems to be thicker and big enough to get lost. In the light of this, TacCon has provided two operational plans for your `star`. Mentioned plan ´Abel` will be carried out if we find a pirate base downwards. In this case you are supposed to smoke everyone who gets away from our strike teams. Plan ´Baker` is for the possibility that we really stumble across a clan outpost. Then your additional firepower might be more than welcomed. Your callsigns will be from Delta One to Delta Five. It's nothing we are not able to perform, but remember Murphy." He smiled, "Be prepared for the unexpected, as usual. Our old ´Vanguard´ (which was our civilian Starlord15 class Jumpship) will transit within the next three hours with loaded batteries. If we find something real unpleasant at our intended pirate's jumppoint, we will simply hop away. In the other case our OP continue with a nice, little two G flight downwards ´TZ-908´ for a little surprise attack", which earned him some groans, especially from little Virginia. "Our jumppoint places us right in the neighborhood of the planet, so you shouldn't be tormented too long. On the downside of this is that we don't have that much forewarning, but so do our enemies. But as I said before, no unnecessary, foolhardy actions got it?"
William plain faced as usual replied: "Hai, Captain-sama. We will stay close only to necessary, foolhardy actions."
Captain McIntyre instantly rolled up his eyes in a, not only played, pain attack. „You guys are the last nails to my coffin", he stated with an excessively sad looking face.
We all knew each other by now long enough to provide some distractions to ease the tension before an impending campaign. A Battlemech might carry more than 20 tons of Armor, but a single, wellplaced shot can have grave consequences for the unlucky pilot. In the 31st century ´mechs were expensive, but life, even of its pilot's, was cheap.
"Any further Questions?" Captain McIntyre asked a last time, sobering. "OK then. Dismissed."
After we left the briefing, Virginia closed up to me and asked, "What about your promised Japanese and German language lessons for me?"
"I fear they will have to wait a little longer, but you should be able to train alone a little more. It might be a solution even to try think Japanese or German", I suggested.
"Do you think? " Virginia replied doubtfully. "Uhm, well let's give it a try... Baumkuchen... Baumkuchen... Baumkuchen..."
Laughing I couldn't suppress a "Baka" to her as we proceeded to the crew's canteen for a fast supper before we had to prepare our belongings and the 'mechs.
Meanwhile in a completely different place, in a galaxy far, far away.
"Personally I think it's a great idea to take a short vacation", Tenchi said to Mihoshi. "The only thing that bothers me in the whole matter is that it includes the usage of a device Washu-chan just newly invented out of the blue."
"Geez, Tenchi. Don't you have any confidence into the greatest scientific genius of the universe?" a voice from behind him demanded to know.
"Uuh, well..." spreading a large sweatdrop Tenchi tried to explain, as he slowly turned to the little person with that funny, crab-like-looking hairdo. "I would be much happier if you were able to do some more tests with this gadget of yours before using it on us."
Carefully he did not mention the fly-zapper, which Washu had built lately. The device had functioned well, until Ryoko had floated into its reach yesterday during her usual afternoon nap. Programmed to engage flying objects the RX-78 had tried to do what it was build to do. The resulting chaos, which was too fresh in his memories, made him secretly itching. He knew that Washu was trying to be helpful most of the time, but sometimes her creations had the fatal tendency to create disaster.
"Look at it this way Tenchi", Washu lectured. "Due the notorious money shortage within this household, this is the best and inexpensivest method for all of us to get a highly deserved break."
"Well, at least deserved for the most of us", Ryoko supplemented with a side look on Galaxy Police Officer Mihoshi.
"And with my newly developed Solargenerator we even didn't need to use electricity from the house" Washu closed without reacting to her daughters statement.
"Oh, so far no problem with me", Tenchi rushed to insist. "It only bothers me that you didn't do more field tests with that teleportdevice you constructed."
A still scorched smelling Ryoko, who stud nearby revolted, "What should happen? Not more than her usual catastrophes. Most of her creations seem to have the single purpose to create even greater havoc through the galaxy."
"Amen to that", Aeka's voice came from the door. She concluded with a nasty, little smile, "But this seems not only to be right to her mechanical offsprings."
This was enough to start a new fight between them immediately. Fortunately at this moment Sasami came from the kitchen, Ryo-Ohki riding on her head as often. Her "Supper is ready" ended the fight before Washu had to use her mallet. Nevertheless Tenchi wasn't able to end his gnawing concern about the trip they were about to start tomorrow afternoon.
1 Spheroid innersphere Transport ship, for traffic ship to ship or to/from planet. No jump capacity (interstellar travel).
2 Also named Mad Cat (innersphere), a 75 tons Battlemech.
3 Also named Gargoyle (innersphere), an 80 tons Battlemech.
4 Also named Thor (innersphere), a 65 tons Battlemech.
5 Inhabitant of one of the minor Powers in the so-called innersphere. Rasalhage is a former provinces of the Draconis Combine.
6 Draconis Combine Elite Storm Trooper.
7 Innersphere Battlemech, 65 tons. One of few types equipped with a melee weapon as standard.
8 Special synthetic muscles that have a higher strength than normal myomer 'mech muscles.
9 Historical Star nation, containing nearly all of from Terra settled colonies.
10 Leader of the Draconis Combine/Kurita.
11 Short for Star League Defense Forces.
12 Operation Plan
13 A special sensor system to counter ECM.
14 Magnetary Anomaly Detector, here a system to the scan for metals/alloys.
15 Jump ship for interstellar Travel, able to transport up to eight Drop ships.